The minister of state for education, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, has said the federal government would set up a formal negotiation team between the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and relevant stakeholders to look into recent hike in fees in schools across the country.
He stated this in Abuja while yesterday briefing the press on activities to commemorate the International Day to Protect Education from Attack.
He said 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 incidents.
“So many areas that require finances are being attacked but we must also look at the constitutional provisions.
“The constitutional provisions expressly state that free education but with a caveat ‘when government can afford’ and that is why it comes also 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 in 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 Nigerians without decreasing the quality of education,” he said.
The minister also said that the federal government had ratified the Safe School Declaration in December 2019 and developed a safe school policy in furtherance to upholding the right to education in emergency situations.
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