Benue State, government has launched a major crackdown on two private schools allegedly exploiting parents and penalizing innocent children over illegal textbook policies.
The Benue Education Quality Assurance and Examinations Board—BEQAEB shut down Orenda and Opal Schools following allegations of learner victimization, defiance of government directives, and a violent assault on state officials executing a court order.
The operation, led by the Executive Secretary of the Benue Education Quality Assurance and Examinations Board, Doctor Terna Francis, follows months of mounting petitions from desperate parents.
At the heart of the dispute is the state’s textbook policy—designed to shield families from economic hardship by allowing siblings to reuse textbooks and letting parents buy prescribed books wherever they choose.
Instead, school management allegedly forced parents to buy books directly from the institution at inflated costs.
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According to the Board, school administrators repeatedly snubbed official invitations to resolve the grievances, forcing it to seek a legal seal-off order in court.
The Board maintained that the facilities will remain shut until full compliance is met.
On compliance by other private schools in the state, Francis said the Board had not received similar petitions against other schools but warned proprietors and administrators against violating government policies.
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(Editor: Ebuwa Omo-Osagie)
