The Cross River State Government has shut down 58 unapproved schools in four local government areas as part of efforts to sanitise the education sector and enforce compliance with operating regulations.

The Commissioner for Education, Professor Stephen Odey, disclosed this on Saturday in Calabar.

He said the affected schools were located in Calabar South, Calabar Municipality, Odukpani and Yakurr Local Government Areas.

Professor Odey explained that the ministry’s Department of Quality Assurance had intensified its crackdown on schools operating without Approval to Operate, A-T-O, across the state.

He said the exercise was aimed at protecting learners, improving teaching and learning standards, and ensuring that schools operated in safe and properly regulated environments.

The commissioner stressed that the government’s action was not intended to witch-hunt school proprietors but to ensure that all educational institutions met the minimum requirements for operation.

He urged proprietors of unapproved schools to regularise their operations by obtaining the necessary approval.

Professor Odey warned that any school sealed by the government and reopened without authorisation would face appropriate sanctions.

He added that the enforcement exercise would continue across the state’s 18 local government areas until the objectives of the ongoing cleanup were achieved.