The Ogun State Government has threatened to penalize any principal who collects fees in excess of the N19,500 cap for secondary school pupils and West African Examination Council examinations.
The government stated that the move to outlaw any type of extortion is part of the government’s ongoing reform agenda to improve the quality of education while imposing no burden on parents.
Evang. Olalekan Ifede, the chairman of the Ogun State Teaching Service Commissions, made this known to media against the backdrop of claims and demonstrations by some secondary school students that a principal was collecting additional charges from its students.
The chairman stated that no student shall pay more than N19,500 for the West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination in May/June 2023.
He said the government will not allow any additional costs from principals other than those permitted by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology.
Ifede also asked principals’ support for the government of Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun, whom he described as “completely devoted” to the welfare of teachers and citizens.
The students of Olorunkole Grammar School in Kajola, Owode Obafemi Local Government, said that the school’s principal collected N29,000 from them as waec fees, despite the government’s approval of N19,500.
Some of the students interviewed, who requested anonymity, said that the principal, Ms. Olusola Odunmbaku, compelled them to pay additional charges to their WAEC costs, and that most parents were forced to withdraw their children from the school.
They (students) then called on the state government to intervene in this case before it was too late, claiming that their parents had to give some cash to meet the principal’s demand, which they described as gross misconduct and a violation of the current administration’s government directive.
Mrs. Olusola Odunmbaku, the principal, stated that the sum (N29,000) was the official amount directed by the state government to be collected from the students, and that the government directed that the students make every effort to pay the amount.
“I have nothing to say regarding the amount that the school will collect from kids, but if you need more information and explanation, you are welcome to approach the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology or, better yet, you can go to Tescom boss to inquire,” Odunmbaku stated.
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