The Akwa Ibom State Government has shut down 326 schools operating without approval or in violation of prescribed standards across the state.
More than 15 additional schools have also been closed in the first two days of the ongoing enforcement exercise for the 2026/2027 academic session.
The Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ubong Umoh, disclosed this during a ministerial media briefing in Uyo, saying the enforcement was aimed at protecting pupils and students from unsafe learning environments.
The affected schools were shut for operating without approval, breaching conditions attached to their approval, operating from unauthorised locations and providing substandard learning facilities.
Government inspections uncovered cases where teachers with only primary or secondary school qualifications were teaching pupils. Some schools also had Primary One to Primary Six pupils taught in a single classroom.
The government further found unapproved schools operating from churches and residential buildings, including bedrooms, two-bedroom flats and one-room self-contained apartments converted into makeshift classrooms.
Umoh said proprietors who reopen schools after closure would be handed over to the police for prosecution.
He urged parents to verify the approval status of schools before enrolling their children and called on members of the public to report schools, principals or teachers collecting unauthorised levies.
Meanwhile, the state government said it had rehabilitated 199 primary and junior secondary schools through the Akwa Ibom State Universal Basic Education Board over three years.
The interventions covered classrooms, administrative blocks, perimeter fencing, water supply and toilet facilities.
The government also said 406,450 teaching and learning materials, including textbooks, curriculum guides, desks and chairs, had been distributed to schools.
It said it was adopting a whole-school intervention model covering security, water, sanitation, solar lighting and teachers’ accommodation in selected schools.
Students with disabilities have also received special grants, with N32.9m released in 2023 and N67m in 2024.
The state government further disclosed that N1.6bn had been released for bursary payments to students in various institutions, including the five campuses of the College of Nursing Sciences.
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