CLARIFY ‘FREE EDUCATION’ POLICY,
ANAMBRA APC TELLS SOLUDO
Anambra chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) says is yet unmoved, like discerning Anambra people, by what it described as the spontaneous pronouncement of Gov. Chukwuma Soludo, while attending a function in Ado Girls Secondaty School, Onitsha, on September 19, 2023, that a plethora of fees charged by Anambra State-owned schools will be stopped.
A release issued on 23rd September, 2023, by the State Publicity Secretary, Okelo Madukaife, on behalf of APC, Anambra State Chapter, said only a proper clarification, backed up by firm official action, would point the direction that Soludo’s government wants Anambra State to go.
The release maintained that for lack of this badly needed clarity, the remarks made amid understandable juvenile cheers have been interpreted in different ways by different sections of the media; some as abolishing of additional payments after school fees, and others as removal of fees (emplacement of free education) from nursery school to junior secondary school.
It pointed out that the government of Anambra State now needs to clarify the nature and extent of the governor’s new drive, which, according to the 19-month-old government, runs from ‘this term’. ( 2023/2024 first term).
Okelo asserted that without justifying the action of any school that places parents under stress in and out of difficult times, every fee is charged for a purpose, overt or covert, and are oftentimes intended to fill a vacuum left by Anambra State Government in funding.
The release continues:
“Any policy that claims to have eliminated these payments must, as a basic minimum, clarify how those headings will be funded and what stands the government in better stead than before now, to guarantee sustained funding on these activities, for the sake of standards.
“In our peculiar circumstance, where government manages to strangulate local governments,it is needless to stress that the financial projections backing the withdrawal of ‘schools subsidies’ should be based on the state government funds, and not LG funds,except in partnerships approved by various consenting elected LG legislatures.
“Outside this, we might be heading back to those things that erase peoples trust in government by creating a huge gap between talk and action.
“The clarification sought from the government now has to include in clear terms, whether Soludo’s referenced pronouncement meant that there will be no school fees in these schools or that after school fees, there should be no additional charges, and who has approved the monies to stand the gap.
“We restate that security, power/energy, local government elections, erosion checks, and creative management of the impact of floods are top needs for Anambra State”, the release concluded.
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