Akwa Ibom: Compulsory education: Govt. to enforce compliance

Posted by admin Akwa Ibom, Education, State News Thursday, April 28th, 2011

The Akwa Ibom State Government plans to enforce strict compliance with its free and compulsory education, according to Special Assistant to Akwa Ibom Governor on Education, Mr Ita Udoh.

Udoh told the News Agency of Nigeria in Eket on Wednesday that government would adopt persuasion rather than force in enforcing compliance with the policy.

“We have found out that parents have enrolled their children in schools after talking to them against allowing them to hawk goods during school hours,” he said.

Udoh, who said that schools in the state had started to benefit from the policy, promised that government would take appropriate measures to outlaw all forms of levies.

He noted that although government had outlawed all forms of levies in schools, some teachers still devised other means of extorting money from parents.

Udoh decried a situation where Parent/Teacher Associations were being used to collect levies from parents on the pretext that they were for development of facilities in schools.

He noted that although the PTAs were relevant to the development of the education sector and should be encouraged, they should comply with government’s policies.

“Government is determined to ensure that no parent is made to bear any financial burden for the education of their wards.

“We shall rise to the occasion and go to the field to ensure that education is totally free, because such illegal fees were against government’s policy,” he added.

Udoh, who is in charge of monitoring education in Eket Senatorial District, said his role was not in conflict with that of the state’s schools management board.

-Punchwp_posts