FG Uncovers 349 Ghost Schools Benefitting From Feeding Programme

• About 349 non-existent schools benefitting from the school feed programme have been discovered in Nasarawa State
• The Federal Government enumeration Committee on the programme said that money meant for the scheme has been ending up in private purses
• The discovery of the fraud was disclosed when the committee visited the state governor Abdullahi Sule in Lafia

The Federal Government’s enumeration committee on homegrown school feeding programmes for public primary schools says it has found 349 fake schools in Nasarawa State profiting from the scheme.

The Nation report says that the money earmarked for the non-existent schools has ended up in private purses, the committee headed by the adviser of Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Mallam Abdullahi Usman, said.

Money meant for projects ending up in private pockets

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According to Usman, who narrated the findings to the Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, in Lafia on Sunday, October 16, 2022, before the discovery, the state was almost delisted as one of the beneficiaries of the scheme.

The state programme office and the consultant were suspended and replaced.

Usman said:

“After due process of vetting, the committee discovered that 349 of such schools were ghost schools, with some officials pocketing the money meant for feeding these schools.”

The minister’s adviser said top ministry officials in Abuja asked to remove Nasarawa State from the programme. Still, it was rejected not to punish innocent schoolchildren who benefit from the programme.

About 1,203 primary schools were initially captured as beneficiaries in the state.

Usman thanked the National Orientation Agency, the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), the National Bureau of Statistics and the Nasarawa ministry of education for making it easier for the committee to do its duties in the state.

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Nigeria’s most expensive secondary schools and their costs

Legit.ng reported that the fall in education standards has given rise to private schools that have latched onto the gaps to create a serious disparity in the school system.

While Nigeria is battling the menace of out-of-school children, estimated by UNESCO to stand at 20 million, there are school proprietors who make a kill from the failure of the system.

It is estimated that Nigeria has about 9,500 public and 17,000 private secondary schools.

Source: Legit.ng