DEADLINE EXTENDED, BUT NO ESCAPE: Rivers Threatens Private Schools With Licence Revocation Over Census Data Failure

The Rivers State Government has given private schools a final opportunity to comply with its digital education data requirements, warning that institutions that miss the revised deadline risk losing their operating licences and being barred from registering students for major external examinations.

The Ministry of Education has extended the deadline for uploading 2025/2026 school census information onto the Digital National Education Management Information System (D-NEMIS) portal to November 14, 2026.

The extension, approved by the Federal Ministry of Education, is intended to accommodate approved private schools that have received D-NEMIS identification codes but are yet to complete their data submissions.

In a notice issued by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Mina Tele Ikuru, on behalf of the Commissioner for Education, Dr Peters Nwagor, school proprietors and administrators were urged to treat the extension as a final compliance window.

The Ministry warned that failure to meet the revised deadline could attract serious regulatory consequences, including withdrawal or revocation of operational licences and disqualification from registering candidates for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE).

To facilitate compliance, the government established a data-upload support centre at Government Girls’ Secondary School, Rumuokuta, Port Harcourt. The centre is scheduled to operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the designated support days leading up to the deadline.

Beyond routine administrative reporting, the D-NEMIS exercise is designed to strengthen education-sector data management, improve resource allocation and support evidence-based government decisions.

From a regulatory compliance perspective, the directive reinforces the responsibility of private school operators to maintain accurate institutional records, meet reporting obligations and cooperate with government monitoring systems.

The Ministry maintained that the exercise was not intended to punish schools but stressed that participation remained mandatory.

With the deadline approaching, school proprietors face a clear choice: complete the required submissions or risk regulatory action that could disrupt their operations and students’ examination plans.