The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has called on the Anambra State Government to urgently regulate tuition fees charged by mission and private schools, warning that exorbitant fees could undermine Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s free and compulsory education policy.
The group, while commending the Soludo administration for reforms in the education sector, expressed concern over what it described as “outrageous” tuition fees imposed by some mission and private schools despite continued government support.
Speaking with newsmen in Awka on Wednesday, the Chairman of the organisation, Evangelist Comrade Vincent Ezekwueme, praised the government for introducing free and compulsory education, recruiting teachers on merit, and banning cultural, graduation, and Christmas parties in schools, which he said had become avenues for extortion and exploitation.
However, the group warned that the gains of the reforms could be eroded if the government failed to rein in school proprietors who allegedly charge fees beyond the reach of ordinary families.
According to the CLO, it has received numerous complaints from parents across the state over the rising cost of education in mission and private schools.
The organisation cited the case of an indigent widow whose child was allegedly asked to pay more than ₦700,000 to gain admission into Senior Secondary School One (SSS1), while new students in some schools are reportedly charged between ₦800,000 and ₦1 million.
The group argued that such fees defeat the purpose of returning schools to mission authorities, especially as many of the schools still benefit from government funding through the payment of teachers’ salaries and allowances, as well as periodic financial interventions.
“Parents who remind school authorities about the state’s free education policy are often told to withdraw their children and enrol them in government-owned schools.
“As the CLO, we are concerned about the level of government oversight because these mission schools cannot continue to receive public funding without being subjected to effective regulation.
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“We urge Governor Soludo to direct the Commissioner for Education to carry out unscheduled inspections and regulatory assessments of mission and private schools to ensure compliance with government policies and protect parents from excessive charges,” Ezekwueme said.
The organisation also called for an immediate and lasting solution to ensure that quality education remains affordable and accessible to all residents of the state.
The group added: “The inaction of those who should have known better and the silence of the voice of justice when it matters most have given evil the opportunity to triumph.”
It urged the governor to intervene urgently to restore public confidence in the government’s commitment to safeguarding the interests of citizens and ensuring affordable education.
