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The Akwa Ibom State Government has shut down more than 326 schools operating illegally across the state, with over 15 additional schools closed in an ongoing enforcement exercise for the 2026/2027 academic session.
The Commissioner for Education, Ubong Umoh, disclosed this during a ministerial media briefing in Uyo, saying the exercise aimed to protect pupils and ensure schools met approved educational standards.
Umoh said the government began its enforcement campaign in September and October 2025 after giving proprietors sufficient time, from the third term of the 2024/2025 academic session through the holidays, to regularise their operations.
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He explained that the affected schools were shut down for operating without approval, violating the conditions of their approval, using unauthorised locations and providing substandard learning environments.
According to the commissioner, inspections revealed that some schools employed teachers with only primary or secondary school qualifications, while others had pupils from Primary One to Primary Six learning together in a single classroom. He also said some unapproved schools operated from churches, residential buildings, bedrooms, two-bedroom flats and one-room self-contained apartments converted into makeshift classrooms.
Enforcement Continues
Umoh said the government had continued its crackdown, warning that proprietors who reopened schools after their closure would be handed over to the police for prosecution.
He said the latest enforcement exercise closed more than 15 schools in its first two days.
The commissioner urged parents to verify schools’ approval status before enrolling their children, stressing that the state government remains committed to providing free and compulsory education in public schools.
He also called on parents and residents to report schools, principals and teachers allegedly collecting unauthorised levies from pupils and students.
Government Rehabilitates 199 Schools
On investments in basic education, Umoh said the Akwa Ibom State Universal Basic Education Board had completed the rehabilitation of 199 primary and junior secondary schools across the state over three years.
He said the projects covered classrooms, administrative blocks, perimeter fencing, water supply and toilet facilities.
The board also distributed 406,450 teaching and learning materials, including textbooks, curriculum guides, desks, chairs and other educational equipment.
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Umoh said the government was adopting a whole-school intervention model to provide selected schools with comprehensive upgrades, including improved security, water supply, sanitation, solar lighting and teachers’ accommodation.
He added that students with disabilities had benefited from special grants, with ₦32.9 million approved and released in 2023 and ₦67 million in 2024.
The government also said it released ₦1.6 billion for bursary payments to students in various institutions, including the five campuses of the College of Nursing Sciences.
