Group Decries Introduction Of Fees In Osun Public Schools

An Osun State-based civil society organisation, Congress of Progressives Youth (COPY), has decried the imposition of fees in Osun State public schools by the state government.

At a press conference which addressed the recent political and governance issues in the state, the director-general, Hon. Ibrahim Bimbola Aderinto, noted that despite consistently claiming the implementation of free basic education, pupils were being made to pay to access education in public schools across the state.

His words, “Across several public primary schools, parents are being made to pay structured and compulsory charges amounting to at least N9,700 per term, translating to nearly N30,000 per academic session.

Some of the charges according to him include: school fee of N4,000, SUBEB fee, N2,500, Teacher support levy due to lack of teachers,  N1,500, and textbooks levy N1,700.

The group also frowned at the alleged allocation of over N100 billion for airport construction in Ede, the home town of Governor Ademola Adeleke, while different abandoned projects are crying for attention across all the nooks and crannies of Osun State.

Aderinto emphasized that COPY is worried about what many citizens perceive as lopsided development, saying there is growing concern that state resources are being concentrated disproportionately in Ede while numerous communities yearn for basic infrastructure.

According to him “Almost a billion naira sango shrine renovation is also going on in Ede while the popular Erin Ijesa Waterfall is left unattended to. For us, development must be inclusive, fair, and strategically sequenced.”

He opined that, “The Congress of Progressives Youth (COPY) is an umbrella body of vibrant young people driven by progressive ideas, innovation, and a burning desire for the all-round development of our dear state.”