Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has said that about 4,000 mushroom schools have been discovered in the state.
Speaking on Thursday through his Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, while briefing journalists about his achievements in the educational sector in the past two years, the governor said the mushroom schools were not conducive for learning, and were without qualified teachers.
While he declined to comment on the next step the government would take, Tersoo stated that 9,700 qualified teachers were recruited into primary schools across the state.
The governor further said that in 2023/2024, the government paid the external examination fees for about 19,000 students who sat the West African Examination Council, National Examination Council and National Business and Technical Examinations Board.
He further stated that the present administration had cleared the backlog of 38 months of earned allowance for staff of the Moses Adasu University, formerly Benue State University.
He said, “The present administration has stabilised the educational sector in the state with its various interventions, which is why our tertiary institutions have been having uninterrupted sessions since this administration came into office.
“For instance, the backlog of 38 months of earned allowance owed to the staff of the state university has been cleared.
“It will also interest you to know that the present administration has recruited 9,700 qualified primary school teachers to reposition our schools.
“Also, the government has identified 4,000 schools that are substandard and not good for learning and do not have qualified teaching personnel.
“In the 2023/2024 academic session, this administration paid the WAEC fees for 8,119 students, NECO fees for 8,979 students and also NABTEB fees for 1,547 students.”
The governor said that his administration had successfully secured a license to establish a university of technology at Ihugh in Vandeikiya Local Government Area of the state.
