LarryBravo Nwaiwu, Enugu

The Enugu State Ministry of Education has accused some unlicensed and illegally-run private schools in the state of peddling falsehood against the Ministry in an attempt to blackmail and stampede their way out of the ongoing reforms and sanitization of the education sector.

The Ministry said that contrary to the fake news that the government had issued a demand notice of N5 million, new and existing private schools in the state were required to either register for provisional approval or have their licenses renewed with between ₦100,000 to ₦300,000 depending on which category the schools fall, adding that the approved schedule of fees was released to the public earlier in June.

The State Commissioner for Education, Prof Ndubueze Mbah, made this known on Wednesday in Enugu while reacting to news on the social media alleging that the government was charging private schools ₦5 million each, urging members of the public to disregard the publication as fake.

Prof Mbah explained that the extant laws empowered the Ministry of Education to maintain minimum standards of education for both public and private schools, stressing that the Ministry is further empowered to streamline and enhance the effective administration, monitoring, and supervision of private schools.

He noted that, fearing the consequences of the illegal operation of unlicensed private schools, which attract imprisonment of up to 10 years and possible closure of the schools, the defaulters resorted to smear campaign against the government.

Prof. Mbah, however, said that government was undeterred, as the Dr. Peter Mbah Administration would not fold its arms and watch the future of Enugu children destroyed by illegal and unscrupulous schools and proprietors.

He noted that the Ministry held repeated engagements with stakeholders in the education space across the state during the revision of the 2024 Enugu State Schools Licensing Fees Regulation, vowing not to back down on the reforms.