Zamfara government revokes licenses of 500 private schools

The Zamfara State government has revoked the operational licences of more than 500 private schools in the state, over their inability to meet required operational guidelines.

Commissioner for Education in the state, Ibrahim Abdullahi, who made this known to newsmen on Tuesday in Zamfara said a task force has been set up to ensure compliance with the closure order.

He said the schools would only be allowed to operate when they meet the guidelines recently developed by the government.

“The guidelines will have to be followed and be met by any private school proprietor before a licence to operate will be issued to them.

“At the moment, we have drafted a bill which we will forward to the House of Assembly that will empower the Ministry of Education to have control over the way the private schools are set up and operated,’’ he said.

The Commissioner also said the ministry’s unit which oversees the operations of private schools has been upgraded into a department to ensure efficiency.