The Akwa Ibom State Government has shut 326 unapproved schools following inspections that uncovered severe overcrowding and inadequate learning facilities, including schools running multiple primary classes in a single classroom and others operating from cramped residential apartments.

Akwa Ibom State Government has shut down more than 326 schools operating illegally across the state, with over 15 more schools closed in the ongoing enforcement exercise for the 2026/2027 academic year.

The Commissioner for Education, Ubong Umoh, disclosed this during a ministerial media briefing in Uyo, saying the crackdown was part of efforts to protect pupils and students from unsafe learning environments and ensure that schools operating in the state meet government-approved standards.

Umoh, a professor, explained that the government began the aggressive enforcement exercise in September and October 2025, after giving proprietors of unapproved schools sufficient notice from the third term of the 2024/2025 academic session through the holidays to regularise their operations.

Violations

He said the affected schools were shut down for reasons including operating without approval, violating the conditions attached to their approval, operating from unauthorised locations and providing substandard learning environments.

According to the commissioner, inspections revealed cases where teachers with only primary school or secondary school qualifications were teaching pupils, while some schools had all classes from Primary One to Primary Six operating in a single classroom.

He also stated that some unapproved schools were operating from churches, residential buildings, bedrooms, two-bedroom flats and one-room self-contained apartments that had been partitioned into makeshift classrooms.

Enforcement Continues

Umoh said enforcement would continue, adding that proprietors who reopen schools after they had been shut down were handed over to the police for prosecution.

He said the state had already commenced another round of enforcement for the 2026/2027 academic session, with more than 15 schools shut down within the first two days of the exercise.

The commissioner urged parents to verify the approval status of schools before enrolling their children, stressing that the state government has continued to equip public schools and provide free education under its free and compulsory education policy.

He said parents and members of the public also have a responsibility to report any school, principal or teacher collecting unauthorised levies from pupils and students.

Rehabilitation Of 199 Schools

Speaking on the government’s investment in basic education, Umoh said the State Universal Basic Education Board (AKSUBEB) had completed the rehabilitation of 199 primary and junior secondary schools across the state over a three-year period.

FILE PHOTO: Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno (L), is seeking re-election in the 2027 governorship election in the state.

He said the interventions covered facilities including classrooms, administrative blocks, perimeter fencing, water supply and toilet facilities, while AKSUBEB distributed 406,450 teaching and learning materials, including textbooks, curriculum guides, desks, chairs and other utility equipment.

The government also said it is adopting a whole-school intervention model under which selected schools will receive comprehensive upgrades covering security, water, sanitation, solar lighting and teachers’ accommodation.

It further disclosed that students with disabilities were being supported through special grants, with ₦32.9 million approved and released in 2023 and ₦67 million in 2024.

The statement government also said ₦1.6 billion had also been released for bursary payments, covering students across various institutions, including the five campuses of the College of Nursing Sciences.