As schools in Anambra state prepare to reopen for the first term of the 2024/2025 academic session, Commissioner for Education, Prof Ngozi Chuma-Udeh has advised parents to make early arrangements and enroll their children only in government-recognized schools in the state.

The commissioner, who disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, September 4, warned that parents enrolling children in any illegal schools would be treated as accomplices.

She said: “Any parent who registered a child in a non-government recognized school shall be ready to bear the consequences of such action.

“Unrecognized schools such as the just shut down Upcoming Star International School at number 114 Ifite Road behind St Anthony’s Catholic Church Ifite Awka are badly run.

“The Proprietor just gathered the children and kept them without any teacher, resulting in the attack on each other by the children and inflicting serious bodily injuries, just as it was the case with little Olaedo Ozioko.

“Children in such unrecognized schools shall not be allowed to affiliate and partake in State examinations, while their parents shall be treated as accomplices in any prosecution against the Proprietors.”

The Commissioner further reiterated Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s position on the right of the child, saying, “Every child belongs to the State, and any infringement against the child’s right to quality education shall be seriously viewed by the state.”