A special committee whose aim is to recover 180 “encumbered public schools” has been constituted by the Abia State government.

The head of the committee is the Chief of Staff to the governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, with the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Eme Uche, as secretary.

According to the PUNCH, the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Okey Kanu, said, “The committee has as its instrument of reference, the identification and recovery of all the encumbered schools in the state and about 180 schools are involved across the state.

“As the government goes ahead with the reformation of the education sector, the state government will not tolerate the greed of the privileged few who have, over the period, surreptitiously acquired lands that belong to the school for selfish reasons.”

He condemned the misuse of schools handed back to different organisations, stressing that such schools must be used exclusively for educational purposes.

“The state government has equally condemned the misuse and misapplication of schools that have been handed over to different organisations.

“The state government insists that such schools must be used exclusively for educational activities. The government advises such organisations who find it difficult to run those schools to return them to the government,” Kanu stressed.

He said following a full diagnostic assessment of the educational sector in the state, about 12,000 teachers in public schools would undergo a capacity-building programme during the summer.

He further disclosed that work had commenced at the Federal College of Education, Ofeme, in Umuahia North Local Government Area of the state, fully supported by the Abia State government.