About 5,461 schools in Benue State are at risk of closure due to a failure to meet recertification status.
Dr Terna Francis, Director-General of the Benue State Bureau for Education Quality Assurance (BEQA), who led a team to the Benue State Board of Internal Revenue Service (BIRS) to discuss inter-agency collaboration, made the announcement on Thursday in Makurdi, the state capital.
He pointed out that many schools operate without proper registration, thereby evading taxes.
“BEQA’s ongoing efforts to monitor, evaluate, and ensure standards in schools have revealed that over 6,000 private schools are operating in Benue State, but only 539 have presented themselves to be captured through the recertification exercise.”
The Director-General added that BEQA was visiting BIRS to seek synergy, just as it had approached the Benue State Urban Development Board to enforce the demolition of unlawful schools.
He extended a grace period for schools to complete and deliver forms to the BEQA office by July 26th, 2024. Failure to do so would result in closure as enforcement begins in the first week of August.
Responding, BIRS’s Acting Executive Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Agema, guaranteed full cooperation by the Service in the enforcement exercise and policy implementation, stressing that BIRS will benefit the most from the exercise because more schools will be included in the tax net.
In his remarks, Mr Joseph Asase praised Dr Francis for taking the necessary steps to improve the state’s educational sector for the benefit of Benue children and urged him to continue his efforts with his team.
Earlier, Barr Ushahemba Dekaa, BIRS’s Legal Adviser and Secretary praised the BEQA team for their courage and visit to collaborate with the Service to increase the efficiency of the two sister agencies.