The Edo State Government, through the Ministry of Education, should endeavour to check anomalies that some private schools in the state practice.
One of such anomalies, which has been going on for many years and which has been fetching private schools lots of money, is the issue of parents being taxed to pay extra charges for the slightest reasons and even school projects which are not captured in any of the conditions stipulated in their registration.
Popular News investigation showed that the easiest avenue for such private schools to extort money from the parents and guardians of pupils is via the Parent Teachers Association(PTA).
The schools make it mandatory that for whatever reasons any parent or guardian that misses a PTA meeting must pay up a fee in the region of N5,000 and N10,000 depending on the rules fixed by the school management but forced on the PTA. No excuse, no matter how tenable or congent, that a parent who misses a PTA meeting gives will save him from paying the stipulated fees. Refusal to pay will result in the child not been given an examination result slip.
A parent who recently experienced such forceful extortion by the management of one of the private schools that his child attends in Benin metropolis have this to say.
“The Edo State Ministry of Education should look into this issue of forceful extortion that is practiced by private schools owners in the state, most especially those that are situated in the Benin metropolis.
“I had a terrible experience just recently when I was billed to pay a charge of N5,000(five thousand naira) by the management of my child’s school(name of school withheld) which is situated in Oghoghobi off Sapele Road, close to the Benin-Warri bye pass.
“I missed a PTA meeting which was held on Friday, November 22nd on account of being out of town on assignment. Also the mother of the boy was hospitalized at UBTH on account of an illness.
“There was no way I could pass the notice of my absence to the PTA body as the avenue for such interaction between the parents is very limited coupled with the fact that I don’t have the contacts of any of the parents as I have never had cause to interact with any of them before.
“The school’s management created a WhatsApp platform for parents which is administered only by some members of staff of the school and is not opened for interaction thus there was no way I could pass the message to the PTA members through the platform. At that point the only other option left for me is to tell my child to pass the information to his class teacher.”
Going further, the parent stressed: “When a notice to the effect that the parents who missed the PTA meeting should pay a mandatory fine of N5,000. I chatted with a member of the school management team and explained my predicament. He told me point blank, even after my detailed explanation, that the fine is mandatory.
“Thereafter, I was fortunate to get the contact of the PTA Chairman. I called him and gave him the narration of my situation. His response tallied with what the school management member earlier told me.
“Not even a detailed WhatsApp message to which was attached a snapshot of the UBTH admission card of the child’s mother on which was inscribed the details of her treatment which tallies with the period when the PTA meeting was held which was forwarded to him and some key members of the management could make them show empathy and exclude me from the mandatory fine(extortion).”
Part of the PTA Chairman’s response to my plea went thus: “In line with PTA regulations, a mandatory fine is imposed on parents who fail to attend these meetings without a valid excuse communicated to the Chairman through the General Secretary prior to the meeting. Please note that permission sought after the meeting will not be granted.”
The affected parent appealed to the state government to take a look at this extortion which has been going on for years in private schools in the state with parents held by the jugular with a caveat that “complaints or grievances must be forwarded to the school management without involving the police.”
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