The Kogi State Government on Tuesday said it had recorded about 75 to 80 per cent success of the recent data capturing exercise of all private schools in the state.
The State Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Mr Wemi Jones, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja on Tuesday.
Jones said that the data capturing of all private schools was carried out by the Ministry as part of its plans to revamp education sector in the state.
He said that there was need to have accurate number of all private schools operating in the state for the purpose of effective planning.
He explained that Government had to know the status of such schools; whether they were even fit to admit children for learning.
According to the commissioner, schools spring up everyday in the state, and that not all of them come to the ministry for registration.
”So, we need to be sure of the number of schools, their status and fitness for learning; conducive nature of the schools, facilities, students, teachers and their qualifications.
”We are already working on a Ten-year Education plan for Kogi State, such as the State Education Sector Plan (SESP) and the State Education Strategic Operations Plan (SESOP).
”So, these are key ingredients into the global plan that we are working on for Education in Kogi State,” he said.
He said that the turnout for the exercise was massive because there was no Local Government Area that did not have almost 70 to 80 per cent compliance.
”I will say that that the turnout was quite encouraging. We are like 75 to 80 comfortable with what we achieved during the period that the exercise lasted,” Jones said.
He, however said that the ministry would give a grace of two to three days which would be announced for schools that had yet to register, to come forward and do the needful.
”At the end of the two to three-day grace, any school that fails to report to the ministry to be captured will face the wrath of the law.
”The appropriate law of the relevant sections of Education Law Kogi State 2020 will be fully applied on such schools, which may even go to the extent of closure of such schools.
”The ministry has got the power to close down schools that fail to comply with certain provisions of that law,” he said. (NAN)