The Federal Government (FG), Says it will set up a formal negotiation team between the Parent-Teachers-Association (PTA), and relevant stakeholders to look into the recent hike of school fees across the country. Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu who made the disclosure on Friday in Abuja at a news conference to herald the commemoration of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, said there was a need to look into the matter to avert further attacks as the hike in school fees could be a core factor leading to attacks on schools.
In his words, “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 but with a caveat ‘when the government can afford’ and that is why it comes also as a voluntary contribution 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 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, acceptable to every Nigerian without decreasing the quality of education.”
Furthermore, Sununu Pledged the ministry's commitment to developing learning centers in IDP camps as well as providing necessary measures to educate schools on threat analysis.
He said, “Nigeria in recent past has had more than a fair share of attacks on our education system at all levels. These attacks are not only physical but also non-physical, especially in deliberate attempts to water down our standards of education.
“The Federal Ministry of Education, in partnership with relevant stakeholders, has put in place various strategies to deal with these attacks. All our efforts would be geared towards implementing the safe school policy for all. The pre-activities of the celebration include playlet, dance, drama, poetic rendition, and quiz competition.