The Cross River State Government has shut down 58 schools across four local government areas for operating without the required Approval to Operate (ATO).
The Commissioner for Education, Professor Stephen Odey, disclosed this on Saturday in Calabar, saying the enforcement exercise was part of the government’s efforts to sanitise the education sector and ensure compliance with established regulations.
Odey explained that the ministry’s Department of Quality Assurance had intensified its crackdown on schools operating without the necessary authorisation across the state.
He listed Calabar South, Calabar Municipality, Odukpani and Yakurr as the local government areas affected by the exercise.
According to the commissioner, the government’s action was aimed at protecting learners and ensuring that educational institutions operated in safe, conducive and properly regulated environments.
He stressed that the state would not compromise on the minimum standards required for the establishment and management of schools.
Odey clarified that the exercise was not intended to witch-hunt school proprietors but to ensure that all institutions met the prescribed requirements for operating educational facilities.
He therefore urged proprietors of unapproved schools to regularise their operations by obtaining the necessary authorisation from the relevant government authorities.
The commissioner warned that any school sealed by the government and subsequently reopened without official approval would face appropriate sanctions.
He added that the enforcement exercise would continue across all 18 local government areas of Cross River State until the objectives of the ongoing reform of the education sector were achieved.
The government maintained that the initiative was necessary to strengthen regulatory compliance, improve educational standards and safeguard the welfare of pupils and students across the state.
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