Oyo state government’s policy of free education is causing ripples in the state as BAYO AGBOOLA writes.
To many people in Oyo state, the good old days of total free education policy is back in the state with the scrapping of payment of school fees especially the mandatory N3,000 yearly payment and others in some cases as well as the return of distribution of free textbooks and notebooks (exercise books) to students across the schools in the state by the Engineer Seyi Makinde-led administration.
Governor Makinde had on May 29 this year during his inauguration at the Obafemi publicly announced the scrapping of the N3,000 payment to the admiration of the people of the state mostly the parents. Few months after, the governor followed it up with the free distribution of textbooks and notebooks to students in public schools in the state.With these gestures and others in the state public schools, many including the out-of-school children were attracted back into public schools in the state with the state government on several occasions publicly acknowledging the increase in the numbers of enrollment into public schools in and across the state. This analysts attributed to his newly-introduced free education policies.A new twistHowever, a new twist was apparently introduced into the new free education policies on Monday December 9 when the state commissioner for education, Prof Daud Shangodoyin, hinted that payment of West African Examination Council (WAEC) fees is not covered in the state’s free education policy and that moreso, payment of external examination fees such as WAEC, among others, should be the responsibility of parents and not that of state government already operating a free education policy.Prof Sangodoyin, in a statement emanating from his office clearly stated that, “WAEC is an external examination which is not covered in the state’s policy and that parents should pay for their wards.” According to him, “The state free education policy is modelled after Chief Bola Ige’s policy in the 1980s which did not include payment for WAEC examination fees.“The free education policy in Oyo state focuses on the provision of education free of all fees and levies, free learning and teaching materials, better environment for learning and improving the skills of education service providers. WAEC is an external examination but all internal examinations are free,” he said.The commissioner quickly added that, “It’s the responsibility of parents to pay for any external examination fees while the government prepares the students for the exams, including provision of the materials needed. The state government would reward deserving and outstanding students in future.”The govt is deceitful – APCThe opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, however, frowned at what it termed a sudden U-turn making on the much-celebrated free education policy of Governor Makinde accusing him of allegedly taking the people of the state for a ride allegedly on account of many fake promises, poor handling of governmental affairs and lack of direction of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) administration.
APC in the state in a statement described the development as a sour grape deliberately put in the mouth of the people who had believed in what it called the PDP administration’s many lies particularly on its fake free education policy saying, “Just like many other people, we found it very difficult to believe what started like a rumour but our doubt was finally erased when Makinde’s commissioner for education told the whole world that there was no provision for the payment of WAEC or NECO fees in their free education programme even after the governor had repeatedly assured of running a completely free, qualitative and quantitative policy on education at both primary and secondary levels.”This sudden U-turn came at a time many unsuspecting parents had fallen for the media noise surrounding the handling of education industry in the state and thereby opened their eyes to gross insincerity and grandstanding on the part of the present administration. “The disclosure came with a rude shock because it was never expected and more so, Gov Makinde would not do anything new if he had gone ahead to offset the examination bill and thus ease the task for the poor parents,” it said.
Oyo APC recalled that, “The immediate past APC government of Senator Abiola Ajimobi paid the same WAEC/NECO registration fees for final year students in public schools for four years until when the economic melt down sets in. The same Ajimobi employed 5,000 new teaching and non-teaching staff and deployed them in schools across the state in addition to provision of state-of-the-art facilities such as modern classrooms, laboratories and teaching aids.”
Emphasizing further, it said that “Another highpoint of APC government intervention in the school system was the introduction of the School Governing Boards (SGBs) which made a huge difference,” the party noted. Not satisfied with it inquiries, it said, “The questions on the lips of informed minds now bother on what actually form the components of free education policy by a government in the absence of sufficient facilities (including pieces of furniture, laboratories and equipment), employment of more teachers, payment for WAEC/NECO registration fees, among others? Why cancel the N1, 000 per term SGB fee only to add extra charges to WAEC’s actual registration fees? Why did Gov Makinde wait until the last minute before coming up with a deadline for the unexpected payment?”With the development, stakeholders including parents are now of the views that the decision of the Governor Makinde-led administration not to include payment of WAEC and other external examination fees may be counter productive for the present administration, the state education sector, parents and the students in general.Anxiety in some cornersSome schools of thought in the state are however of the views that the only way parents could value the education of their wards is to contribute to it as contribution to the development of their future hence the need for the payment of the external examinations while others holds the view that with the inccrease in the external examination fees particularly WAEC in the recent time, many of the students presently benefitting from the free education policy may have to end their secondary school education without sitting for WAEC or NECO should the government stands by the policy of not paying the fees.
