By KACHY MADUKAEGO
The Commissioner for Education, Prof. Johncliff Chike Nwadike has warned school headmasters and principals to desist from imposing unapproved levies on their students.
Prof Nwadike enjoined them to ensure that the needful is done especially now that government has lifted embargo on promotion.
The commissioner gave the warning on Tuesday while speaking with reporters on the occasion marking the International Day of Education.
According to him, 2023 International Day of Education is dedicated to the sensitization of girl child education due to the situation in Afghanistan where children of over 14 years are not allowed to be in school.
Nwadike said;”When it comes to marginalizing a girl child in education, Imo state is free, the problem we have are from the northern part of Nigeria and the federal government is handling it.
“If you go to schools in Imo state either primary, secondary or university you will find a greater number of girls, this is so because both parents and the government are now aware of the importance of training a girl child in education, because 90 percent of them always come back to take care of their parents at old age.
“There are so many exams coming up and Imo State Ministry of Education is well prepared, we had some ugly experiences in the past which we will not allow to repeat again”..
Nwadike further encouraged teachers to be more dutiful and attend school regularly, stressing that the ministry has been getting report about some schools taxing their students.
“No school should impose any levy that is not authorized or approved by the ministry on their students, the PTA should also help the government to rebuild the infrastructure in the school but while doing so they should not impose any fee on the students, where some levies are approved they should work in harmony with the school to ensure that the project is delivered, any PTA that misappropriate government approved levies will not go free, he stated
