The Cross River State Government has sustained its cleansing of the education sector with the sealing of 14 schools in Calabar South Local Government Area for operating without the required Approval to Operate (ATO).
Carried out by the Ministry of Education through its Quality Assurance Department, the enforcement exercise, is part of the government’s ongoing drive to sanitise the sector and ensure that schools across the State operate within approved standards.
The exercise is aimed at protecting pupils and students by ensuring that educational institutions provide safe, conducive and standard environments for effective teaching and learning.
Speaking on the ongoing drive, Tuesday, the Commissioner for Education, Senator Professor Stephen A. Odey, said the continued enforcement was necessary to safeguard the future of learners and ensure that only schools that meet government’s requirements are permitted to operate.
Odey urged proprietors of unapproved schools to regularise their institutions by obtaining the necessary approval, stressing that compliance with established regulations was essential to maintaining standards in the education sector.
He warned that any school sealed by government and reopened without authorisation would face appropriate sanctions, as the State would not allow operators to undermine the ongoing cleansing exercise.
The Commissioner said the enforcement would continue across the 18 Local Government Areas of the State until illegal schools are identified and brought into compliance with the required standards.
According to him, the exercise is not simply about shutting down schools, but about creating an education system where children can learn in safe, properly regulated and conducive environments.
The 14 schools sealed in Calabar South are De-Famous Academy International School, 9 Orok Effiom Street; Glory Academy, 14 Antigha Street; Aunty Febas Preparatory Schools, 38 Umo Orok Street; Treasure Kids Academy, Abasi Orok Street; and Emerald Bay School, 9 Abasi Orok Street.
Others are Great Destiny Kingdom Schools, 13 Ene Obong Street; Great Ambassadors, 8 Otokang Street; Splended Nursery and Primary School, 15 Orok Effiom Street; Jubilant Montessori, 11/13 Howell Street; and Ability International Schools, 31 Umoh Orok Street (Secondary).
Also sealed were The River of God Academy, 31 Umoh Orok Street (Secondary); Mary Melody N/P School, 46 Eyo Ita Street; Divine Golden Nursery/Primary School, 10 Archibong Lane; and Vato-Gold Academy Nursery/Primary School, 25/27 Eyo Ita Street.
The State Government reiterated that the education sector cleansing would be sustained across the State, with emphasis on compliance, quality assurance and the protection of learners, while proprietors of affected schools are encouraged to regularise their operations through the appropriate government channels.
By Patricia Ogbeche
