TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has directed private schools in the state to apply for 2019 operational approval, in a move to ensure that only standard schools operate in the state.
Governor Wike stated that the application for operational approval must be done by all schools within the next two weeks.
The governor spoke at a meeting with private school proprietors in Rivers State, at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
He said: “All the schools must apply for operational approval within the next two weeks. We will set up committees that will recommend the approval of schools. All the schools in the state must be of the required standard.”
The governor said that his second term is committed to improving the right standards in the education sector for the good of Rivers people.
“The governor’s office will review all the approval of schools. All the existing approvals by the Ministry of Education have been cancelled. For this process, there will be no room for bribery and corruption,” he said.
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On the issue of revenue paid by schools, the state governor said that all levies must be paid through approved designated bank accounts.
He said that anyone, who demanded for cash payment should be reported to security agencies via designated phone lines.
Speaking further, the state governor said that the Office of the Secretary to the Rivers State Government will publish the telephone lines that school proprietors should contact in case they were pressured to pay illegal levies.
Local government chairmen and permanent secretaries attended the meeting.