By Dipo Olowookere
Principals of unity colleges across the country have been warned to stop asking for unapproved fees from parents and guardians or risked being sacked.
This threat was made by the Minister of Education, Mr Adamu Adamu, who also said any act capable of sabotaging the goal of the ministry would not be tolerated.
A director in the Ministry of Education, Mr Ben Goong, said that the Minister gave this warning in response to reports that some principals were collecting fees well over the amount stipulated by the ministry.
Mr Goong noted that the Minister had directed that all authorised cost items, including boarding fees must be communicated to parents in writing and copied to the ministry before any payment could be demanded.
He quoted Mr Adamu as saying that, “For the avoidance of doubt, the authorised school fees for Unity Colleges for the 2016/2017 academic year has been placed on the ministry’s website, www.education.gov.ng.
“Any school principal who collects or has collected a penny outside the authorised fees as clearly stated must refund same to affected parents or guardians immediately.”
Mr Adamu urged parents whose wards were in unity colleges to report any infraction on the directive to the federal ministry of education for appropriate sanction.
The Minister said one of the pillars of his ministerial action plan, ‘Education for Change’, which would soon be launched, was to make education accessible and affordable to all Nigerians.
Modupe Gbadeyanka