Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Benue State Education Quality Assurance and Examinations Board (BEQAEB) has sealed Orenda and Opal Schools in Makurdi over allegations that learners were victimised for failing to purchase exercise and test books directly from the schools.
The enforcement exercise was led by the board’s Executive Secretary, Dr Terna Francis, alongside officials of its Directorate of Enforcement and Compliance, following repeated complaints from parents.
According to Francis, the schools allegedly insisted that parents must purchase exercise and test books from them before their children could receive attention in class, even after paying their school fees.
He said the practice violated the Benue State Government’s textbook reuse policy, which allows parents to pass textbooks from older children to younger siblings or purchase approved books from other vendors.
Francis explained that the board initially contacted the school proprietor by telephone and directed her to stop the alleged practice. The board later issued a formal letter and invited the proprietor, school management and Parent-Teacher Association chairman to meetings to resolve the complaints.
However, he said the efforts failed to produce a resolution, while further complaints indicated that some learners’ homework was allegedly left unmarked and that books purchased outside the schools were not allowed into classrooms.
The executive secretary said the board subsequently worked with the Benue State Attorney-General’s office to approach a court, which granted an order authorising the sealing of the school premises. The order was served on the proprietor before officials locked the facilities.
Francis said the schools would remain sealed until their owners and administrators met the conditions set by the board and demonstrated their willingness to comply with government policies and respect the rights of learners and parents.
He stressed that schools could sell textbooks but must not make purchasing them directly from the school compulsory. Parents, he said, should be free to obtain approved books from other sources.
The board urged parents experiencing similar problems in other schools to submit formal complaints supported by evidence, warning that further violations of education policies could attract enforcement action.
The allegations against the two schools have not been independently established in court, and no response from their management was included in the report.
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