Benue seals two schools over alleged forced textbook purchases

Benue education regulators have sealed Orenda and Opal Schools over allegations that pupils were penalised when their parents did not buy textbooks directly from the institutions.

The Benue Education Quality Assurance and Examinations Board said it obtained a court order after receiving parents’ complaints and inviting the school proprietor and administrators to a meeting they did not attend.

The state’s textbook policy allows parents to reuse books previously bought for older children and to buy prescribed titles from external bookstores, the board said.

Executive Secretary Terna Francis alleged that the schools insisted on fresh purchases from their own stocks, even where parents already had the required books.

The board said some pupils whose fees had been paid had homework left unmarked because their parents could not afford the books sold by the schools. It also alleged that children were barred from bringing externally purchased textbooks into classrooms.

Francis said some parents were told either to buy books directly from the institutions or withdraw their children. These are the regulator’s allegations, not findings of a completed investigation.

The board further alleged that proprietor Onyinye Okoye and staff verbally assaulted enforcement officials and damaged an official vehicle after the court order was served.

Francis said the schools would remain closed until their management met the board’s conditions, complied with government regulations and respected the court order.

Parents and guardians with similar complaints were asked to submit formal petitions to the board with supporting evidence.

Sources: Punch, Daily Trust