The Bayelsa State government on Wednesday charged its Ministry of Education to do more in regulating the activities of both public and private schools to achieve set objectives in the sector.

Deputy Governor Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo gave the charge while granting audience to the state chapter of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) at the Government House, Yenagoa.

Mr Ewhrudjakpo said the government would come down hard on officials in the ministry and other relevant agencies who fail to effectively carry out their supervisory responsibility in schools.

He lamented that over 80 per cent of private schools operating in the state have no minimum required standards stipulated in the guidelines for registration of private schools.

The deputy governor called on NAPPS’s leadership to conduct a thorough self-examination to ensure that their members complied with the guidelines and provided quality education in their schools.

“The number of private schools that are not supposed to exist in the state is greater than those that are supposed to exist.

“This is happening because those responsible for the supervision or regulation of schools in our Ministry of Education and SUBEB are not doing what they are supposed to do effectively. But I can assure you, that will stop soon,” said the deputy governor.

The state chairman of NAPPS, Marshal Abraham, said the association was committed to promoting quality education services in collaboration with relevant government agencies and individuals in the state.

(NAN)