By Kenneth Onuoha
Parents and Parent Teachers Association (PTA) executive are currently bickering over alleged financial irregularities within Federal Government College, Enugu.
The parents said the PTA executives were billing them excessively and using an account which is not a Federal Government remitta account to receive payment from new students.
The spokesman of the concerned parents, Mr Chris Agu, accused the leadership of the PTA of unilaterally laying off all PTA-teachers in the school, despite the fact that the parents pay N5,000 each term to keep their services.
Agu said: “They were sacked after serving for between 10 and 14 years during the end of the first wave of COVID-19 and no parent was informed, or they reverted to the old PTA fee of N1,000 per term as we longer have any PTA-teachers.
“Again, the sacked PTA-teachers were owed three months salary and were not paid the three money salaries as at the time of disengaging them.
“The PTA executive also collected a whooping sum of N65,000 from parents of fresh students (JSS-1), without paying to the Federal Government remitta account and without being duly receipted.
“They claim it was meant to get some basic provisions for the fresh students, which included mattress, school uniforms, school lockers, table and desk, torch light and other miscellaneous.
“From all market standards, the items were below N65,000.
“Even till today, some students are not sleeping on the mattresses to be provided after the payment but some sleep on the floor or share a mattress with other fellow students.’’
Responding, the PTA Chairman of the school, Mr Chima Nwodo, said that the allegations were untrue, adding that the PTA-teachers are part time teachers engaged by the recommendation of the principal.
Nwodo explained that it was at the recommendation of the Principal of the school, Alhaji Raji Adewale, after he received 32 teachers from the Education Ministry, that he stopped PTA-teachers who were having duplicating functions with the ministry’s permanent teachers.
He said: “However, about 90 per cent of them, representing over 50 of them, had been recalled. We are making efforts to clear the debt owed the PTA-teachers.
“During the lock down, we lost a term and additional time running into almost six months and there was no PTA levy paid and we did not have anywhere to generate their monthly payment other than the PTA levy each term.’’
The chairman further explained that the N65,000 being paid into the PTA account was a fall-out of an agreement at the last meeting held by principals of unity schools/colleges in Kano.
He said that the PTA is just the custodian of the money to checkmate the principals and school managements and ensure value for money for the parents.
The Chairman added that both the PTA executive and school management did a joint market survey to arrive at the N65,000.
“The whole idea by the principals at the Kano meeting was to have uniformity and the right colour or texture of uniforms both for day and boarding for students, as well as uniformed class lockers, table and desk, mattress sizes etc.
“We have provided all these materials for the fresh students and nobody, I repeat no student, is sleeping on the bare floor as was alleged.
“The market survey we did was never on the high side and any other person can verify the cost of these materials in the market today,’’ he said.