Education Minister Promises to Set Up Committee to Look Into School Fees Hike

The Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu has promised to set up a committee to look into the hike in school fees across the country.

Speaking on the recent hike in school fees across the country, the Minister revealed that the federal government would set up a formal negotiation team between the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and relevant stakeholders to look into the recent hike in fees in schools across the country.

Myschoolnews reports Sununu said that a hike in school fees could be a core factor leading to attacks in schools, hence the need to look into the area to avert further attacks.

“So many areas that require finances are being attacked, but we must also look at the constitutional provisions.

“The constitutional provisions expressly state that free education is available, but with a caveat: ‘when the government can afford it, and that is why it also comes as voluntary contributions by all stakeholders.

“When we say safety in schools, it is a collective responsibility. So we are going to encourage formal negotiations.

“Where we cannot provide, it is to encourage PTA and relevant institutions so that we can agree to a term that is acceptable to all of us.

“Also, we will encourage a lot of partnerships as part of areas that can bring peace. Whether we agree or not, we must appreciate the role of PTAs in sustaining services in lots of our schools at both the local and federal levels.

“So, while we do that with scarce resources, at the ministry level, we try to see how we can block leakages and see how more funds can be available to schools to ensure that quality education is affordable and accessible to every Nigerian without decreasing the quality of education,” he said.

He said at the first inaugural meeting with the president that security was a major factor that featured in the deliberations of the council and the attempt to return at least four million out-of-school children to school.

He said the ministry would ensure it lived up to its responsibilities by ensuring standards at the various educational levels.