The Anambra State Government has demoted two secondary school principals over the collection of illegal levies from students, in a move aimed at enforcing the state’s free education policy.
The Chairman of the Post Primary Schools Service Commission, Professor Nkechi Ikediugwu, ordered the principals of Community Secondary School, Awkuzu, Mrs Cecilia Okeke, and Community Secondary School, Igbakwu, Mrs Patricia Ezeabiakwa, to step aside from their positions following unannounced visits to the schools.
During the visits, Professor Ikediugwu discovered that the principal of Community Secondary School, Awkuzu, in collaboration with some teachers, was collecting between ten thousand and forty thousand naira from newly admitted students, in violation of the free education policy of the Soludo administration. Similar practices were also uncovered at Community Secondary School, Igbakwu, where students were reportedly compelled to pay money under various pretexts.
The two principals were directed to hand over to their respective vice principals in charge of administration with immediate effect, refund all monies collected from students within seven days, and submit evidence of the refunds to the PPSSC headquarters in Awka. Teachers implicated in the incidents were summoned to appear at the commission’s headquarters on Monday, 15 December, to receive letters of query and face further disciplinary measures, which may include suspension.
Professor Ikediugwu emphasized that education in Anambra State is free from nursery to secondary level, warning that any principal or teacher who collects money from students is undermining government policy and will face strict sanctions. She noted that despite repeated warnings, some individuals have continued to flout the directive.
She also disclosed that the commission has constituted a special monitoring team that will carry out continued surprise inspections of schools across the state from the next academic term.
Efforts to obtain comments from the affected principals were unsuccessful, as they were reportedly unavailable at the time of filing the report.
