As schools prepare to reopen for the first term of the 2024/2025 academic session, the Commissioner for Education, Prof Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, has advised parents to make early arrangements and enroll their children only in government-recognized schools in Anambra State.
In a statement in Awka on Wednesday, Commissioner Chuma-Udeh warned that any parent who registers a child in a non-government-recognized school shall be ready to bear the consequences of such action.
In recent times, the state government has declared that operating illegal schools in the state is now a criminal offense.
It had to shut down some schools for operating without approval and below the standards prescribed.
One such school was Upcoming Star International School at number 114 Ifite Road behind St Anthony’s Catholic Church Ifite Awka, where pupils were left without teachers.
The Proprietor was said to have gathered and kept the children without any teacher, resulting in them attacking each other and inflicting serious bodily injuries, just as was the case with little Olaedo Ozioko.
Landmark International School, Mgbakwu, Awka North Local Government Area, was also shut down after a pupil was flogged into a coma, resulting in his death.
Speaking on the development, the Education Commissioner further warned that children in such unrecognized schools should not be allowed to affiliate and partake in State examinations.
According to her, their parents shall be treated as accomplices in any prosecution against the Proprietors of such schools.
Commissioner Chuma-Udeh reiterated Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s position on the right of the child saying, “every child belongs to the State, and any infringement against the child’s right to quality education shall be seriously viewed by the State.”
