FG to set up negotiation team on hike in school fees – Minister

The Federal Government says it will 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.

The Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, made this known at a news conference to herald the commemoration of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack in Abuja on Friday.

Sununu said that the 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 constitution expressly states free education but with a caveat, ‘when government can afford’ 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 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,” Newsmen quoted him as saying.

The minister also said the Federal Government had ratified the Safe School Declaration in December 2019 and developed a safe school policy to uphold the right to education in emergency situations.

He pledged the ministry’s commitment to developing learning centres in Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) camps as well as providing relevant information on threat assessments to the schools at all levels.