Anambra Government Warns School Principals Against Imposition of Levies on Students

By Praise Chinecherem

Anambra State government has warned principals of secondary schools in the state against unnecesary taxing of the students.

The Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh stated this while  addressing the Principals at the 2022 Principals’ retreat held at Madonna Renewal Centre, Nkpor.

She urged them to work with the understanding that all fingers are not equal and to avoid inflicting injury on troubled souls.

She said, “Most students are passing through one hardship or the other, do not compound the problem with unnecessary tax and punishment.

“Nothing is compulsory in Anambra educational system, hence on no account should a student be driven out of class, beaten or sent home for being unable to buy textbooks.

“The use of persuasion is more effective in making students comply with directives or injunctions.”

The commissioner directed the Principals to set up school bookshops on school premises to help students buy government-approved textbooks, warning that prices should not be higher than what is obtainable in the open market.

Speaking on the use of the biometric portal in the state educational space, Chuma-Udeh disclosed that the Soludo-led administration was out to change the face of Anambra schools and attract international awareness to the success and plight of the sector.

She called on principals to upload photographs of their best and worst facilities to the portal.

“We want to attract international awareness to our public schools, that is why the full biometrics of all schools in the state should be uploaded to the portal.

“If your school’s details are not in there, you are invariably telling the state you no longer want to be part of the system and your school expunge from the educational space, she stated.

The commissioner assured the Principals that Mr Governor was working relentlessly towards finding solutions to their problems.

“I want to assure you that Mr Governor, the Chief Servant of the state, Prof.Chukwuma Soludu, holds you close to his heart. Being a teacher himself and a seasoned one, he knows your pains, pangs, and struggles. 

“He is working tirelessly, looking for ways to make life easier and your workload less tedious,” she disclosed. 

Earlier, Chairman, Anambra House  Committee on Education, Hon. Ejike Okechukwu, commended the Principals for holding forte despite challenges they were encountering in their places of work.

Describing Principals as managers of schools, Okechukwu argued that they ought to know how best to harness the potentials of teachers under them for the good of the students in their care, adding, “the rise and fall of a school lies squarely on the shoulder of the Principal.”

He regretted that the budget allocation for education in Nigeria remained the lowest in the world, assuring a considerable increase in budget allocation for the sector next fiscal year.

“I firmly believes a teacher’s reward should be here on earth because of the vital role education plays in the development of a nation,” he stressed.

In her remark, Executive Secretary, Post Primary Schools Service Commission, Lady Stella Oraukwu, while welcoming the Principals to the week-long annual capacity building and human resource development retreat, expressed the commission’s gratitude to Governor Chukwuma Soludo for his unalloyed support and commitment to the education sector.

She commended the government for paying the arrears of the 2021 teachers’ leave allowance, the 2022 teachers recruitment exercises, distribution of coconut seedlings to schools and adoption of Community Secondary School Ugbenu and Community Secondary School, Eziagu amongst other feats. 

Oraukwu solicited government’s assistance in the provision of vehicles for monitoring and on-the-spot checks of schools, especially schools in hard-to-reach areas and increase in the Commission’s monthly allocation.