The Benue State Government sealed the Benedictine Order of Peace and Unity Academy Foundation Nyiman, Makurdi, on Monday due to its failure to meet approved educational standards. Dr. Terna Francis, the Director General of the Bureau for Education Quality Assurance (BEQA), led the operation and highlighted that the school was operating in an incomplete hotel building.
Francis pointed out that the school lacked essential elements such as a curriculum, lesson plans, a scheme of work, and qualified teachers, and was running three different schools within the uncompleted structure. He emphasized that the academy was not registered and the government had not authorized its operation, stating that the government would not permit any substandard schools to operate in the state to ensure the safety of children and the quality of education.
He noted that BEQA had identified 2,416 illegal schools in the state, warning proprietors to either meet the required standards or face closure. Francis remarked on the dangers posed by allowing children to stay in unsuitable buildings, asserting, “As a government and regulatory body, we cannot allow anything harmful to happen to these children.”
The closure was executed in collaboration with the General Manager of the Benue Urban Development Board, Ternongo Mede, who described the uncompleted three-story building as unfit for educational purposes. Mede urged that every building must pass a fitness test for its intended use.
In response, Rev. Fr. Elias Torugh, the school’s founder, stated that they were working diligently to fulfill the state’s educational requirements. He explained that they had only been in the incomplete building for two weeks after being evicted from the Staff Development Centre by the state government. While acknowledging the inadequacy of the learning environment, Torugh mentioned that they planned to remain in the hotel building for just one term and clarified that the school, owned by the Benedictine Order, was not affiliated with any Catholic diocese in the country