Parents of new intakes into the public schools of Ondo State are on serious lamentations over the unpalatable and unwarranted ways by which school Principals are placing heavy charges and levies on them with no check from the state government despite claim of free education.
However, despite the hardship being faced by these parents , the school Principals and the state Ministry Of Education seem not to bother , considering the cry and economy woos that are pressing hard on the masses in the state ,when prices of goods & commodities have gone up ,when government at all levels have not done anything tangible to alleviate their sufferings.
The Principals of most of these schools are head- bent in yielding to the order of the state government that no principal should sub – charge parents but till today , nothing happened as the Principals engage in a free -for -all action on the so call- fees.
Often than none, the government of the state , through the Ministry Of Education has always been making series of threat on the school Principals but all to no avail resulting to empty threat, when public schools should have been affordable for the tax payers.
Some of the parents interviewed said , the Ministry has hand in the heavy fees placed on them hence the authority in charge by now should have acted.
Mrs Adeolu Adejare said that, it is not possible for a school Principal to do such without the order of the state government.
“is it possible for a principal who knows what is at stake to be collecting money when order has been given? No, she lamented
Another parent, Mr David Awe, said ,it is a clear thing that, the government is using the school Principals to extort the parents claiming the education is free .
” it is obvious that,the Principals are doing the bid of the Ministry,by extension dancing to the tune of the government’s piper ” he said
Moreover, till today, the Ministry cannot indeed claim outrightly that it has no knowledge of what the heads of schools at the secondary schools are doing.
Chief Mrs Akere, claimed her daughter paid well over one hundred and fifty thousand naira at Fiwasaye Girls Grammar School Akure, with evidences and no tangible receipts for the payment.
Mr Akin, a parent at Oyemekun Grammar School Akure, said he paid #20,300, as fees, #35,000, for Uniform and #34,800, for books in the school apart from the compulsory exercise books of #5000.
The amazing thing in the whole scenerio is that, the schools put Miscellaneous as fees for the parents.
According to Mr Adewole, a parent at Adegbola Memorial Grammar School Akure, said when he saw Miscellaneous – #8300 and some other charges , he was speechless, asking that how will miscellaneous be far more than other charges.
Above all, it is seeing and believed that, the government of the state is turning away it’s search lights on the issue subjecting parents to more hardship over the payment.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Education in the state ,Hon Laolu Akindolire had once said in a press conference at the Ondo State secretariat of the Nigerian Union Of Journalists in Akure , on Thursday 5th September,2024 that government will not tolerate any act of Indiscipline from the school Principals who takes unauthorized charges from parents of the new intakes and that they are not aware of the levies placed on parents saying ,the sledge hammer of the government will descend heavily on whosoever found guilty of such but till now, nothing seems to be happening on that statement.
