Rivers state withdraws licence of 21 schools, demotes 14 principals

The Rivers State Government has ordered the demotion of 14 principals of public secondary schools and withdrawal of 21 private schools in the state.

The State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Kaniye Ebeku, disclosed this while speaking to newsmen in Port Harcourt on Monday.

Ebeku said the action followed a letter written to the Rivers state ministry of Education by the West African Examination Council which contained a list of 35 schools secondary schools in the state delisted by the examination body due to examination malpractices in the 2021 senior secondary certificate examination.

He said, “Now upon receipt of the letter, we immediately invited the affected schools to a meeting.

“We presented this information to them and found that those at the helm of affairs in the various schools allowed this sort of situation to arise. Following that, we decided on certain sanctions.

“For all principals who are still in service and who superintended at the time this situation arose, we have directed that they be demoted.

“For all schools that are found in the list, we have directed that their licenses to operate be withdrawn forthwith. This is the situation of things right now,” Prof Ebeku stated.

He said the state government led by Governor Nyesom Wike does not condone any form of examination malpractices whether in public or private schools in the state.

“We have said it again and again that we have zero tolerance for exam malpractice. The WAEC is aware and they (WAEC) have actually written a letter to commend the commissioner for his efforts in ensuring that there are no malpractices in the schools.

The commissioner said that the state would never tolerate examination malpractice.

He also pointed out that Rivers state government had disciplined and dismissed principals who flouted the state government’s rules and regulations and also engage in malpractices in any form in the past.