More than 300 private schools in Borno run the possibility of closure if they refuse to submit to the government’s required accreditation.
Engr. Lawan Wakilbe, the commissioner for education, told reporters in Maiduguri on Wednesday that the process was important to control the expansion and unwholesome practises of some private schools.
Only 266 of the roughly 600 private schools that were involved in the experiment since it started in 2022 have cooperated, he claimed, which is concerning.
Mr. Wakilbe stated that on Saturday, representatives from the ministry, private school owners, the Ministry of Justice, and the police would gather to discuss the illegality of operating unaccredited schools.
He continued by saying that the meeting would also issue a warning about the potential for closing defaulting institutions and prosecuting their owners.
The commissioner remarked, “We may briefly reopen the registration window for final compliance, even after clearance must have been received from the State Executive Council.
Additionally, Mr. Wakilbe informed reporters that Borno gave technical and vocational education a high priority in order to develop graduates who could work for themselves.
“Of the 1.8 million youngsters who are not in school, a sizable portion have outgrown the typical school year.
“A child who was four years old when the Boko Haram insurgency started is now around 15 years old and a person that was 10 years old then is now 20 years old.
“Most of them grew up in Internally Displaced People camps.
“The best way to handle such children is through basic literacy, numeracy and technical skills acquisition so they can pick up their lives,’’ Mr Wakilbe said.
He pointed out that there were so many people interested in attending technical and vocational schools that when the government went to hand out 450 admission forms at the recently opened vocational centre in Biu Local Government Area, nearly 5,000 people showed up.
Mr. Wakilbe claimed that in order for the school to be able to meet the increase in eager students, Governor Babagana Zulum had to sanction morning and afternoon sessions in addition to other steps.
The similar thing happened in Shani Local Government Area. Additional technical and vocational schools will soon be opened in the local government areas of Mafa and Magumeri, according to Mr. Wakilbe.
