Lagos shuts down 12 private schools for safety concerns, illegal operations

Lagos State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Jamiu Alli-Balogun, on Thursday, said the government has shut down 12 private schools for safety infractions and illegal operations.

Speaking at the ongoing annual ministerial press briefing to mark the first year of the second term of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Alli-Balogun, said the decision was to ensure that all children receive qualitative education in safe and conducive environments.

The commissioner also revealed that the government paid N5.7b in fees for the West Africa School Certificate Examination of 313034 students in six years while about N1.5b has been approved for 2024 West African Examinations Council (WAEC).

He said that the Education Transformation Plan of Sanwo-Olu’s administration has focused on policy shift, addressing short, medium, and long-term challenges to provide qualitative education.

Ali-Balogun said the ministry will continue to reform education policy in line with global best practices and conformity with the state’s education laws for efficiency.

The commissioner emphasised that the safety of schoolchildren is being prioritised to enable them to acquire skills and become employable and added that basic infrastructure in public schools had been upgraded while more facilities were also being put in place or rehabilitated across the education districts in the state.

Also, he said that the state government will continue to embark on restructuring of the education sector to deepen the investment of the state in terms of policy intervention and regulation.

Ali-Balogun restated the commitment of the state government to the welfare of teachers in public schools and regulate the activities of private schools as its stepped up security in schools across the state.

He said the government had completed the building of several schools in the state just as it had so far given 256 provisional approval to private schools and promote distance/remote learning among learners.

The commissioner also said bullying in school is not acceptable and the government had been embarking on advocacies and engagement to nib it in the bud.