As secondary schools in Lagos State are to reopen on Monday (August 4) to prepare final year students for the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination, WASSCE. schools that fail to get the required Quality Assurance Clearance from the Ministry of Education will be sanctioned.
This was disclosed on Wednesday in Alausa, Ikeja during a press briefing by the Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Mrs Abiola Seriki-Ayeni.
While explaining that candidates already enrolled for WASSCE by such defaulting schools would still be able to take the examination, the schools would not go unpunished.
She, therefore, appealed to school owners to take the necessary steps for their schools to be assessed by officials of the department, as her team would from Monday continue their assessment tour of all education districts in the state.
She listed the steps schools are expected to take to include the provision of running water, decontamination of school premises, fully equipped sickbay, hand sanitizer among others.
“It is mandatory that all private school owners in Lagos State register with the Office of Education Quality Assurance before reopening of schools. They are enjoined to visit www.oeqalagos.com to register their schools. School owners are advised to comply strictly with this directive that will be of immense benefit to them. Evaluators will be out to monitor compliance after the expiration of the timeline granted,” she stated.
Enumerating some of the achievements of the department since she came into office, Seriki-Ayeni said: ” The agency has improved the efficacy of its primary responsibilities. We have instituted the grading instruments for evaluating the standard of education in schools, review the guidelines for the establishment, operation and sustenance of schools, increase the registration and launching of the Read Aloud Programme for basic school students.”
She also said the department had sealed 18 schools whose management flouted the closure order made by the state government because of the outbreak of Coronavirus disease in the country.
The affected schools are privately run and are spread across the six education districts in the state.
VANGUARD
