By Martin Paul
Abuja
The federal government has described as illegal, an increase in school fee and other charges in Federal Unity Colleges (FUCs) across the country.
Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, while fielding questions from journalists yesterday in Abuja, at the launch and dissemination of the National Education Quality Assurance (NEQA) handbook for basic education in the country, said he had not been told of any hike in fees in Federal Government Colleges (FGCs).
Although the Federal Unity Colleges fall under the purview of the Minister of State for Education, Professor Anthony Anwukah, Adamu said: “I am now aware”.
As against last session, where charges in FUCs stood at between N25, 000 and N27, 000, for junior and senior secondary, respectively, the federal government allegedly raised the amount to between N75, 000 and N79, 000.
Irked by this, the parent teacher association of federal government colleges had threatened to go to court, while the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) condemned the hike.
Meanwhile, Adamu stated that the launch of the handbook marked a radical change in thinking from the former practice of school inspection to a monitoring and evaluating process.
“It ensures that evaluation processes and practices are carried out according to set standards that bring about measurable improvements in teaching and learning. The process is open and transparent and the same quality standards and indicators used are made known to all stakeholders”, he said.
The minister disclosed that “findings are valid, reliable, consistent and inform national and state planning, training and policy development.
These considerations led to the adoption of the new Quality Assurance approach in 2007 and the subsequent formulation of policy approved by the National Council on Education (NCE) in 2014”.
He described the handbook as an indispensable tool to achieve education quality service, adding that quality education had been ranked as the fourth in the list of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while the present administration’s focus on quality education, had attested to the need for the handbook.
“Since education quality assurance processes are enshrined in the agreed quality standards, it is imperative that all relevant stakeholders in education use the same handbook and the same standards to ensure the attainment and sustenance of quality at all levels of education, especially at the basic education level”, Adamu added.