The Plateau State Government has shut down several private schools across the state as part of a sweeping crackdown to sanitize the education sector.
By: Aliyu Badamasi J-Town
Hikaya Newspaper covered that the action targets institutions found guilty of negligence, quackery, and operating without proper approval.
The move follows the March 2023 Saint Francis School tragedy in Jos North, where more than 30 pupils died after a substandard building collapsed. Investigations later revealed that the school had neither approval nor structural clearance, exposing a deeper crisis of unregulated institutions across the state.
On Wednesday, a multi-agency task force led by the Director of Quality Assurance, Mr. Gimba Yusuf, stormed several illegal schools and ordered their immediate closure. Affected institutions include Global College of Education, Fobur; Golden Valley School, Pump Street; Premier College of Health, William Street; Hill Advanced College, Bauchi Road; Blessed Hope College of Education, Zinariya, and ten others. Authorities stressed that no school will be allowed to operate without establishment forms, facility inspections, qualified teachers, and provisional clearance pending national accreditation.
While the closures mark a decisive step, observers have urged the government to also reform the Ministry of Education through transparent audits, community monitoring, and whistleblower hotlines. Parents and stakeholders insist that Plateau State must never again witness a tragedy like Saint Francis, where innocent children were sacrificed to greed and negligence.