Dr Kanelechi Nwangwa, Abia State Commissioner for Education, has threatened private schools owners with pungent sanctions if they flout state’s policy of payment 30 percent school fees for the current 2019/2020 academic calendar year.
His word, “It is heartless, it is not fair for private school to collect more than 30% after this COVD-19 that wreck havoc on the economy everybody including parents all over the world”.
The state has pegged payment of school fees at 30% and so be it, stated. He explained on Sunday in Umuahia that any school that fails to comply with the directive will receive a hammer from the government.
It will be recalled that the Abia State Commissioner for Education monitored schools in Abia State on Friday to ascertain the level of compliance to the government’s directive were playing ignorant of the rule.
“I was surprised that some the schools I visited feigned ignorant of the new policy”, he enthused.
He therefore encouraged parents to report any private school flouting the order to the Ministry or Area Inspectorate Department in their locality, saying that because of the devastating effects of the COVD-19, the government came out with the policy as a way of easing its debilitating effects on parents.
Nwangwa disclosed that State Executive Council through the electronic and print media announced measures to be followed by head teachers of private schools and that based on that the government will not hesitate to sanction such school for financial violation.
It should be noted that the government, after its executive council (EXCO) on Thursday, September 24, 2020 announced the immediate reopening of all primary and post primary schools in the state on Monday, September 28.
He posited that the government in the statement said private all schools were expected to take their 2019/2020 third term examinations before the commencement of their 2020/20/21 academic year.
Nevertheless, Nwangwa stated that the first term for the 2020/2021 academic session will commence on October 23, 2020, stressing that examinations for the present ie 2019/2020 third term examinations suspended because COVID-19 outbreak should start from October 5, 2020.
He was dissatisfied with the behaviour of some private schools’ heads, whom he accused of driving away pupils/students in their schools for nonpayment of 3rd term school fees full, describing it as “unacceptable”.
Uche Nwosu is a two time Shell Petroleum PLC award winner in the year 2000; He won the Shell Award on Investigative Journalism and Environmental Cleanliness.
