MAKURDI, BENUE STATE — The Benue State Education Quality Assurance and Examinations Board (BEQAEB) has officially sealed two private schools in the state capital, Makurdi. The affected institutions—Orenda and Opal schools—were shut down following severe allegations of forcing parents to purchase textbooks and exercise books directly from the schools, alongside subsequent victimization of the students..
Tripod Times reports that the enforcement operation, led by the Executive Secretary of the Board, Dr. Terna Francis, was executed by the Directorate of Enforcement and Compliance after multiple parents lodged complaints.
According to Dr. Francis, the targeted schools allegedly refused to attend to learners who failed to purchase instructional materials directly from the school authorities, even after their regular school fees had been fully settled.
“We received several complaints from parents about the victimization of their children in these schools,” Dr. Francis explained. “The schools insisted that learners and their parents must buy exercise books and textbooks from them, or they would not be attended to.”
He emphasized that this practice flagrantly violates the state government’s strict textbook reuse policy, which explicitly bans schools from making customized or non-transferable books compulsory. The Ministry of Education and Knowledge Management previously directed that parents must retain the freedom to source approved textbooks from any market or supplier of their choice.
The board revealed that the proprietor had initially been given telephonic warnings to halt the practice, but chose to ignore the directives, leaving the state with no option but to seal the premises. An extensive investigation has been launched to determine further disciplinary actions against the offending administrators.
