Osun Public Schools: Parents Allegedly Pay Up To N24,000 Per Student Despite N500 Approved Levy

 

Parents and guardians of students in public secondary schools across Osun State are allegedly paying between N12,000 and N24,000 per student per term, despite the state government’s approval of only N500 as Education Trust Levy (ETL).

Investigations by OSUN DEFENDER revealed that the alleged charges vary across schools, with parents also reportedly required to provide items such as laundry baskets, dustpans, brooms, markers, canes, disinfectants and tissue paper.

Findings indicated that Osogbo Grammar School allegedly collects N24,000 per student without issuing receipts.

At Saint Francis Grammar School, Modakeke, Junior Secondary School One students are reportedly charged N22,000, in addition to N500 for report sheets.

Students at Fakunle Unity Grammar School, Stadium Area, Osogbo, are allegedly required to pay N16,000 per term, while Surajudeen Primary School reportedly collects N13,000 per pupil as school fees.

A guardian sponsoring six children at Saint Francis Grammar School said he paid N132,000 last term, excluding the cost of books.

“They collected N22,000 per child, that is N132,000 for six children, excluding books. Where do they expect poor parents to get such money in a government school?” the guardian, who requested anonymity, lamented.

At Laro Grammar School, Oke-Fia, Osogbo, parents were allegedly given a list of 18 compulsory items to provide. They were also reportedly compelled to purchase textbooks within the school at N4,800 and N5,800 per copy.

Reacting to the allegations, the Osun State Chairman of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), Comrade Fadare Moshood, said the association was unaware of the reported collections.

He, however, suggested that the charges might have resulted from arrangements by public secondary school principals under the All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS).

The President of ANCOPSS in Osun State, Comrade Muyiwa Oladipo, declined to comment directly on the allegations when contacted.

In a response to an enquiry by OSUN DEFENDER, Oladipo said: “I’m not in the position to respond to your questions; you rather contact Ministry of Education for any response on the issues mentioned in your questions.”

The state Commissioner for Education, Dipo Eluwole, maintained that the government had approved only N500 as the Education Trust Levy per term, while students in mega schools pay an additional N2,000 for maintenance.

According to him, the N500 levy is returned to schools as a running grant for maintenance, while other collections are determined by PTAs.

He argued that school principals had no control over PTA decisions, which he said were based on the specific needs of individual schools.

“It is very difficult for the government to regularise it, because the needs of different schools differ from each other. PTA of Fakunle may decided to buy new school bus for the benefit of their children while Osogram may decide to repair their old school bus because of the cost of the new one. With the above, the two schools will not charge the same amount,” Eluwole said.

However, the commissioner’s position that other collections were PTA decisions appeared to conflict with the state PTA chairman’s claim that the association was unaware of the alleged levies.

The commissioner also did not clarify whether any queries had been issued to the affected schools or what sanctions could be imposed on principals found to have collected unauthorised fees, despite the reported charges exceeding the government-approved levy.

A follow-up enquiry was sent to Eluwole seeking clarification on whether the leadership of Osogbo Grammar School, Laro Grammar School and Fakunle Unity Grammar School had been queried over the allegations. No response had been received as of press time.

Parents, guardians and other stakeholders have appealed to Governor Ademola Adeleke to intervene and sanction principals and school heads found culpable in the alleged collection of unauthorised fees, compulsory items and payments for instructional materials in state-owned primary and secondary schools.

A civil society stakeholder, Citizen Lola Wey, said the alleged practice contravened Section 13 of the Osun Child Rights Law 2013, which guarantees free and compulsory basic education for children.

Wey called for a ban on unauthorised demands for materials from students and urged the governor to reissue the government’s circular on free education in public schools.

She said she had taken up the matter in her capacity as a Child Rights Ambassador and pledged to pursue efforts to address the issue through advocacy and public enlightenment programmes across the state.