EDOHERMA, DEQA Partner To Advance Health Standards And Sustainable Private School Management in Edo State

EDOHERMA, DEQA Partner To Advance Health Standards And Sustainable Private School Management in Edo State

The Edo Healthcare Regulation and Monitoring Agency (EDOHERMA) and the Directorate of Education Quality and Accountability (DEQA) have joined forces for a landmark two-day stakeholder engagement with private school proprietors.

Held at the John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOOPSA) in Benin City, the event provided a critical platform to address school security, child safety, conflict management, financial planning, regulatory compliance, and environmental hygiene across educational facilities.

The Chief Executive Officer of EDOHERMA, Dr. Adesuwa Urhoghide-Edigin, positioned the agency as a central pillar in establishing a lasting legacy for the administration of the Executive Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo. She emphasized that building strategic partnerships with private school proprietors is a vital step toward safeguarding the state's future. She highlighted that because schools host the largest concentration of children anywhere in the world, ensuring their health, physical safety, and overall well-being is a collective responsibility. 

The CEO presented a clear case for why health regulation must be integrated into the core management of educational institutions. She noted that healthy learners demonstrate improved concentration and cognitive function, record fewer sick days, and ultimately achieve better academic outcomes. She stressed that proactive health management within schools also ensures that physical environments remain safe, directly reducing avoidable accidents and injuries among pupils.

Dr. Urhoghide explained that the agency’s Public Health Monitoring Department with innovation and by law is tasked with inspecting and monitoring school health, hospitality outlets, public spaces, mass gatherings, and general public health safety.

To ensure continuous transparency, citizen engagement, and institutional accountability, the CEO highlighted EDOHERMA’s active Public Feedback System. She revealed that the dedicated

 platform grants parents, teachers, and members of the general public direct access to lodge complaints, report substandard hygiene conditions, and alert regulators to public health hazards in real time. She also said EDOHERMA online verification system would be a one stop health standards verification portal in Edo state for both health facilities/services and public spaces.

Earlier, the Director General of DEQA, Dr. Amen Ogbemudia, stated that the joint initiative directly reflects Governor Monday Okpebholo’s commitment to ensuring every child in Edo State receives top-tier education across both public and private institutions. She emphasized that the workshop was deliberately structured not as a fault-finding compliance exercise, but as a collaborative platform to support private school growth, financial stability, and sustainable management.

Dr. Ogbemudia explained that when private educational enterprises thrive, more children gain access to learning, job creation expands, and the state’s education sector grows stronger. She concluded by noting that outcomes from the engagement will inform continuous professional development programs for teachers, affirming that no education system can rise above the quality of its educators.

EDOHERMA and DEQA are committed to ensuring that the Executive Governor Senator Monday Okpebholo's Health and Education SHINE Agenda is accomplished.