Government has allayed fears of private pre-tertiary schools that extension of the National Inspectorate Board (NIB) inspection to their institutions will lead to the closure of their schools.

The National Inspectorate Board will from next academic year add private schools to its list. Government believes this will help improve teaching and learning across the country.

According to Deputy Education Minister, Dr Yaw Adutwum said the new system will compel private schools to emulate best practices.

Speaking at a Stakeholder engagement forum organized by the NIB, the deputy minister said “NIB is not coming to private space so that they can get to you. No, understand that they are going to look at your facilities. Not all private schools are equal. Some private schools have facilities that you will not want your child to sit in. So we would have critical conversations because those may be about the health and safety of the students.”

“So beyond curriculum and instruction, they will look at other things. You see in other jurisdictions, you cannot open a school without having a certificate of occupancy,” he indicated.

He however lightheartedly said, “you are private people, you look for parents to pay good money for you and ‘I’m sure some of you after your inspection may even increase your fees and talk about the fact that you were rated a high performing school.”