By Felix Asuquo, Calabar
The Cross River State Government has shut nine schools in Calabar Municipality for operating without the required Approval to Operate (ATO), as part of efforts to enforce standards in the state’s education sector.
The nine schools affected are VON Secondary School, Presbyterian Road, off 9 Miles; Faith Unity Nursery/Primary School, Old Adiabo Road, behind Every Home Custard, Ikot Ekpo; Ma’on Academy, 143 Old Odukpani Road, Ikot Omin, 8 Miles; and Great Care International Nursery/Primary School, Ikot Ekpo Layout, off Murtala Muhammed Highway.
Others are Richfield International Schools (Secondary), 2 Richfield Close, off Nassarawa, 8 Miles; Word of Faith Group of Schools (Secondary), 21 Victory Way, Satellite Town; Child of Destiny, Nyok Esu, Big Qua Town; FINB-ALLEN School, 7 Ikang Etta Avenue, off Akim Road; and Living Stars International Schools, 16 Atimbo Road.
The latest enforcement exercise by the Ministry of Education’s Quality Assurance Department follows the closure of schools in Calabar South, with the government vowing to sustain the crackdown on unapproved educational institutions across the state.
The Commissioner for Education, Senator Stephen Odey, on Monday said the government would not compromise the standards required for schools to operate legally in Cross River.
Odey explained that the inspections were aimed at identifying schools operating outside the approved regulatory framework and ensuring that proprietors obtained the necessary approvals and complied with prescribed standards.
He warned proprietors whose schools had been sealed against reopening them without government authorisation, adding that violators would face appropriate sanctions.
The commissioner said the exercise would be extended to all 18 local government areas of the state, while proprietors would be given the opportunity to regularise their operations in line with established requirements.
The government said the exercise was intended to protect learners by ensuring that schools operated in safe and conducive environments while maintaining the quality of education in the state.
It urged school proprietors to obtain the necessary approvals and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements, warning that the enforcement exercise would continue across Cross River.
