The National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOSS), Sunday called for the reintroduction of Parents Teachers Association (PTA) levy in public primary and secondary schools to ease the financial burdens on the State government.
The student body, said it has called for a meeting between the representatives of parents, teachers, public school administrators and other stakeholders to review the PTA levy and come up with a reasonable amount that would not be too difficult for parents to pay.
NAOSS in a statement by the National President, Comrade Oluwagbemileke Ogunrombi in Abeokuta, said the call for the reintroduction of PTA levy in public schools was necessitated by the economic meltdown occasioned by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Governor Dapo Abiodun had last year ordered the suspension of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) levy and other levies paid by pupils of public primary and secondary schools in the state.
The governor scrapped the levies and replaced it with the payment of running cost to public schools, insisting that his administration was totally committed to free education.
But while lauding the governor’s gesture, NAOSS stressed that there was need for government to review its decision as a result of the economic reality.
According to NAOSS, the meeting which is scheduled to hold on Monday, July 27 will be held virtually with representatives of PTAs in all the three Senatorial Districts of the state.
The student body argued that the suspension of PTA levy would put more strains on government finances, especially in the face of the dwindling revenue.
“We want to call on parents, teachers, school administrators in public schools and other stakeholders to be reasonable and reconsider the payment of PTA levy in public schools as this will further ease the financial burdens on government.
“We are not discouraging the government from providing free education, but parents must also be committed to the education of their children and the payment of the PTA levy provides a form of commitment on the part of the parents.
“We know His Excellency, Governor Dapo Abiodun has good intentions for the people of the State, we are also aware that as a good administrator, he meant well for the State but government cannot do it alone, there is need for the people to also contribute their own quota to the development of the State.
“We urge our parents not to see this call as imposing more hardships on them, but to see it as a form of commitment to their children’s education and as a way of contributing their quota towards the development of the education sector.”
