The Benue State Government has sealed two private schools over alleged violation of the state’s textbook policy and victimisation of pupils, warning proprietors against exploitative practices in the education sector.
The Executive Secretary Benue State Education Quality Assurance and Examinations Board (BEQAEB), Dr Terna Francis disclosed Tuesday in Makurdi following a court order on the Proprietor and locking the premises.
He said the schools violated a government policy intended to let parents reuse textbooks and buy approved titles from outside bookstores rather than purchase them exclusively through school management.
The enforcement action follows complaints that pupils whose fees had been paid but whose parents could not afford prescribed texts faced punitive treatment, including having homework left unmarked.
Some parents said schools rejected textbooks they had already bought elsewhere and told them to purchase new copies from the schools or withdraw their children.
He added that the alleged conduct placed unnecessary financial pressure on families and undermined student welfare.
“It is quite unfortunate,” he said, describing the practices as unacceptable and contrary to directives issued for the 2026/2027 academic session.
The closures represent an unusually direct intervention by a state regulator into the operations of private schools, where textbook sales can provide a significant revenue stream.
Benue’s policy seeks to curb that practice by allowing parents to hand down suitable books from older children to younger siblings and to obtain required titles from independent retailers.
Under the directive, he stated, schools may sell approved textbooks, but they cannot compel parents to buy from them.
The government also prohibited restricted or customized nontransferable textbooks, barred schools from folding textbook costs into tuition, and warned that violators would face sanctions.
In a related development, Commissioner for Education Margaret Adamu said parent-teacher associations that want to organize lessons outside regular school hours must first obtain ministry approval and cannot make such lessons compulsory.
The measures were part of a broader effort to reduce hidden costs for families and limit practices that regulators say can exploit parents.
BEQAEB said it invited Orenda’s proprietor and school administrators to a meeting to address the complaints, but they failed to attend.
The board then sought a court order through the state attorney-general, authorizing it to seal the premises.
The board alleged that after officials served the order, proprietor Onyinye Okoye and some staff members verbally assaulted them and damaged a board vehicle.
Those allegations have not been independently verified, and the schools’ representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.
Francis said the schools would remain closed until their proprietors and administrators met the board’s conditions, complied with government regulations, respected court orders, and demonstrated a commitment to protecting learners’ rights.
He urged parents who encounter similar practices to submit formal petitions supported by evidence.
The dispute highlights a tension familiar across private-education sector: schools argue that controlling instructional materials helps ensure consistency and quality, while regulators and parents view exclusive sales arrangements as a tax on families already struggling with tuition and living costs.
For Benue officials, the case is also a test of enforcement.
The board said it acted not only to address complaints at the two schools but to deter other proprietors from violating education policies or compromising pupils’ welfare.
The government has repeatedly reminded school owners of the textbook-reuse policy, according to Francis.
The closure of Orenda and Opal signals that authorities are prepared to use court-backed enforcement when warnings fail.
The action leaves families in Makurdi facing immediate disruption. Parents must now find alternative schooling for their children—or wait to see whether the schools can satisfy regulators and reopen.
BEQAEB said it would investigate future complaints and take action in accordance with the law.
For now, the sealed gates at the two schools stand as a warning to private-school operators: in Benue, the price of defying the state’s textbook rules may be the loss of the classroom itself.
