The Delta State Government has vowed to investigate why Itomorka Secondary School, Illah, has been denied accreditation as a West African Examination Council (WAEC) centre for the past 12 years.
The State Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, disclosed this on Monday in Asaba while addressing journalists.
Aniagwu said the state government was conducting a needs assessment of schools across Delta to identify gaps in infrastructure, furniture, and staffing. He stressed that interventions would be driven by this assessment.
“On the issue of Itomorka Secondary School, Illah, I will find out what the issues are to see if there is something the government needs to do.
“I do not think any government secondary school should stop halfway; such challenges are usually more common with private schools,” Aniagwu said.
The Commissioner warned that any school, public or private, that failed to meet accreditation standards or offered substandard education risked being shut down.
Earlier, Global Peace Development (GPD), a civil society organisation, called on the state government to urgently facilitate accreditation for the school.
Its Executive Director, Ebruke Esike, raised the concern during a training session for journalists in Asaba, lamenting that the school’s 12-year accreditation denial had discouraged parents from enrolling their children.
“No parent will send their child to a school where they cannot sit for WAEC or NECO. For government, it also amounts to wasted resources, as qualified teachers are posted and paid salaries while students are forced to write exams elsewhere,” Esike noted.
He revealed that the absence of a perimeter fence had been cited as the reason for the accreditation denial, stressing that this security concern should not continue to hinder the school’s progress.
A teacher at the school, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the Illah Development Union of Nigeria (IDUN) had renovated classrooms, re-roofed dilapidated structures, and refurbished the science and ICT laboratories.
“We now have a functional computer lab with over 80 computers, which can support proposed Computer-Based Tests (CBT). All our teachers are qualified and certified.
“Yet, after building up our students, they end up writing WAEC and NECO in other schools, giving credit to those centres instead of ours,” the teacher lamented.
The teacher appealed to the state government to intervene swiftly, warning that continued denial of accreditation might lead to parents withdrawing their children from the school.
“We have endured this situation for too long. Securing WAEC and NECO accreditation is the only way to protect our students, our efforts, and our community’s investment,” the teacher added.
