By Magnus Emuji
ASABA/Nigeria: Delta State Government (DTSG) has urged stakeholders in the education sector especially school principals and head teachers to abstain from the collection of outrageous fees from pupils and students but adhere strictly to only approved levies.
The State Commissioner for Primary Education, Chief Sunday Onoriode, and the Commissioner for Secondary Education, Mrs. Rose Ezewu stated this in Asaba during a stakeholders meeting.
Chief Onoriode and Mrs. Ezewu commended the stakeholders for their contributions toward the growth of the education system in the state, adding that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa had performed beyond expectations in the education sector.
Mrs. Ezewu specifically warned against the collection of high admission fees outside the stipulated amount, stressing that wrong for principals to be extorting parents under the guise of admission to their children and wards.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Augustine Oghoro said that the meeting was convened in order to deliberate on ways of driving the education sector to an enviable height.
Mr. Oghoro stated that there was a need for schools to conduct the offline registration of pupils and students for the Cognitive/Placement and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) to avoid the incidence of wrong names and wrong spelling of names.
He said that if a school had collected any fee outside the approved and agreed levies that would be regarded as unnecessary extortions.
Mr. Oghoro lauded the State Commissioner for Secondary Education, Mrs. Rose Ezewu, and the Commissioner for Primary Education, Chief Sunday Onoriode for their outstanding contributions to the educational system, saying that the duo was highly knowledgeable about the workings of the education sector.
Also speaking, the Director of Examination and Standard, Mr. Sunday Egomagwuna disclosed that the registration fee for the Cognitive/Placement was One Thousand, Two Hundred and while that for Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) was Two Thousand Five Hundred Naira.
