The Chief Executive Officer of the Edo State Healthcare Regulation and Monitoring Agency (EDOHERMA), Dr. Adesuwa Urhoghide-Edigin, has emphasized the importance of forging strategic partnerships with private school proprietors as a key step toward safeguarding the future of Edo State.
Dr. Urhoghide-Edigin made the call while addressing participants at a two-day stakeholder engagement for private school proprietors and key players in the education sector, held at the John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOOPSA) in Benin City.
The workshop, jointly organized by EDOHERMA and the Directorate of Education Quality and Accountability (DEQA) under the Edo State Ministry of Education, focused on critical issues including school security, child safety, conflict management, financial planning, regulatory compliance, and environmental hygiene in schools.
According to the EDOHERMA boss, the collaboration is necessary because schools accommodate the largest concentration of children, making their health, safety, and overall well-being a shared responsibility.
She stressed that integrating health regulation into the management of educational institutions is essential, noting that healthy learners are more attentive, experience fewer sick days, and achieve better academic performance.
“Proactive health management within schools also ensures that learning environments remain safe, significantly reducing preventable accidents and injuries among pupils,” she said.
Dr. Urhoghide-Edigin explained that EDOHERMA’s Public Health Monitoring Department is empowered by law to inspect and monitor schools, hospitality establishments, public spaces, mass gatherings, and other environments to ensure compliance with public health standards.
She also highlighted the agency’s commitment to transparency and public participation through its digital platforms.
“Our active social media platforms provide parents, teachers, and members of the public with channels to report poor hygiene conditions, lodge complaints, and alert regulators to public health hazards in real time,” she said.
She further disclosed that the agency is developing an online verification system that will serve as a one-stop portal for verifying health standards across healthcare facilities, services, and public spaces in Edo State.
In her remarks, the Director General of the Directorate of Education Quality and Accountability (DEQA), Dr. Amen Ogbemudia, said the initiative aligns with Governor Monday Okpebholo’s vision of providing quality education for every child in Edo State, regardless of whether they attend public or private schools.
She explained that the engagement was designed as a collaborative capacity-building exercise rather than a compliance inspection, with the goal of helping private schools strengthen their operations, improve financial sustainability, and adopt best management practices.
Dr. Ogbemudia noted that thriving private schools would expand access to quality education, create employment opportunities, and contribute significantly to the growth of the state’s education sector.
She added that insights gathered from the workshop would shape future professional development programmes for teachers, emphasizing that the quality of any education system depends largely on the competence of its educators.
