Did You Approve Boarding Fee Hike In Technical Schools, Delta Parents Ask Governor Oborevwori

Parents of students in Delta State-owned Technical schools are seeking to verify if Governor Sheriff Oborevwori is aware of a recent hike in boarding fees from ₦85,000 to ₦250,000 per term.

The parents said that they are asking in view of the fact that there is no justification for the sharp hike, especially when Federal Government Colleges, some private schools as well as the Delta State-owned model secondary schools charge far less.

They also highlighted their concerns, citing the financial hardship that the hike has thrown them into.

In an open appeal, the parents asked the governor to clarify whether the fee increase was approved by his office or implemented by the Ministry of Technical Education without his consent. They also pointed out that the state owned government model secondary schools and colleges charge N60,000 while some private schools in the state capital, Asaba, charge ₦150,000, while similar schools in Lagos charge around ₦100,000 as boarding fees.

“We are struggling to understand why the state technical schools are demanding such a high amount. Federal Government Colleges charge ₦85,000 and even the State Government Model schools like Nana Government College Ughelli and others charge N60,000. We are even surprised that the best private schools in Asaba charge less than what is now being asked of us,” said a concerned parent.

A teacher from Ofagbe Technical School, speaking anonymously, expressed concern over recent fee increases imposed by the Ministry of Technical Education. He noted that the annual fee for junior and senior classes rose from N1,850 to N3,400, along with an additional compulsory N15,000 for medical and administrative charges. He also noted that prents are struggling to meet these new financial demands, leading many to withdraw their children from the school.

The teacher lamented that this situation disproportionately affects poorer families, who are already facing economic hardships. He added that although Delta State is supposed to provide free education in line with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) guidelines, the recent fee hikes contradict this promise, even as students are forced to pay for textbooks and medical services.

According to him, the unfortunate situation has led to a decline in enrolment numbers as families opt for other public secondary schools with lower fees, which range from N1,700 to N2,700. The teacher emphasized that the current educational policies seem to cater more to the middle class, risking a crisis in the educational sector.

Master Ochuko Favour, a young boy who recently completed his primary education, shared his disappointment at being unable to pursue his dream of attending technical school due to the financial burden. He revealed that he will settle for a local government secondary school. His plight highlights the systemic barriers that many students face in accessing education.

Also, a recent circular from the Ministry of Technical Education, dated September 17, 2024, has sparked concern over increased levies for students in government technical schools. While some fees align with those approved for public secondary schools, many stakeholders are questioning specific charges, particularly for students in JSS 1-3 and Pre-Vocational classes. These include a N2,000 administrative charge, a N3,000 medical fee introduced last academic year, a termly sports levy, and the mandatory purchase of Mathematics and English textbooks solely from the school.

Parents and stakeholders argue that these fees contravene the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act of 2004, which exempts students in the Basic Education Cohort from paying for government-provided services. They maintain that there is a pressing need for the state government to clarify the rationale behind these fees, as many view them as disguised tuition charges.

The situation is particularly concerning given that other states are actively working to improve their technical education systems and increase enrolment. The community is calling on the Delta State government to investigate the Ministry of Technical Education’s policies, suggesting that these changes may disproportionately burden low-income families and contradict the broader educational goals of the administration. The perception is that the ministry is prioritizing revenue collection over the needs of students and the community, which could undermine the vision for equitable education in the state.

A parent of a female student who gained admission to the school has decided to reject the offer in favor of a public model secondary school in Warri with boarding facilities. She cited lower fees and essential amenities as key reasons for her choice. Concerned about her child’s safety and the lack of basic facilities like electricity and water, she questioned why she should pay N250,000 for boarding when the school’s resources seemed inadequate. She expressed frustration over the Ministry’s failure to ensure the schools are functioning properly despite significant investments in its infrastructure.

Beyond the financial burden, the parents also raised concerns about the deplorable conditions of some of the technical schools. Reports from various institutions in the state reveal overcrowded classrooms, lack of electricity, and facilities and in some of the new model technical schools workshops and laboratories are now being converted into makeshift classrooms without adequate furniture. Parents who visited the schools said there was no official available to address their concerns.

“The classrooms are overcrowded, and there’s no light. Our children are not getting the education they deserve despite the high fees. When we visited to clarify the situation, there was no one to speak with us,” lamented Mr. Joseph Ighotegwolor, a concerned parent.

The parents also questioned why the Ministry of Technical Education continues to admit new students despite the existing lack of space and facilities to accommodate them. They urged the governor to intervene, fearing that the Ministry are more focused on increasing revenue than providing quality education as the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education is not left out in this revenue drive by conducting supplementary entrance examination into the state model schools whereas most of the classrooms in the schools are already overcrowded.

Adding to their concerns, the parents highlighted a policy that forces students in the various technical schools who fail their promotion examination to leave the school without giving them the opportunity to repeat the classes. Many see this as an unfair practice, particularly in an environment that is not conducive to learning.

“Instead of helping students improve, they are asked to leave if they fail their exams. This is not right. These are young students who deserve support, not expulsion,” said Mrs. Amaka Udeh, a parent from Effurun.

The parents called on Governor Oborevwori to urgently investigate the fee increase, address the challenges affecting the technical schools, while ensuring their children receive a quality education.

Meanwhile, the recent policy change by the Ministry of Technical Education mandating entrance exams for all technical schools, including the six conventional ones, has created significant barriers for prospective students. Previously, these conventional schools accepted students without an entrance exam, making them accessible to a broader demographic.

With the entrance exam requirement, many students, especially those from lower-income backgrounds who struggle with funding, are unable to compete for admission. This situation has forced them to continue in regular public secondary schools, potentially limiting their vocational training opportunities and future career prospects.

Advising the government, the parents noted that adressing this issue may require revisiting the admissions policy to ensure that all students have equitable access to technical education, possibly by providing financial support for exam preparation and related costs or by reinstating more inclusive admission criteria for conventional schools.

NArSAC and the gains of streamlining road safety administration in tandem with global expectations: The Shehu Mohammed perspective

Time and time about, the Federal Road Safety Corps has proven to be capable of delivering on its corporate mandate. From the leadership of the ISO certified public service agency, to its operatives, the Corps has continued to show that it has all it takes to make the nation’s highways safe for all to use.

Today, I join the entire community of road users in celebration of another giant leap achieved towards attaining the goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on reducing road traffic fatalities by 50% by year 2030. A feat that has in all areas portrayed a demonstration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, Administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

This giant strides speak volume of the administrative prowess of the present Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed, who against all odds has continued to make indelible marks in the sand of time. The Corps Marshal has shown that it is indeed possible to achieve anything you set before you to achieve. He has unraveled the mystery behind the wheel of progress and made bold statements in the realisation of the corporate mandate of the Corps.

Recall that in an epoch making event of streamlining road safety management in Nigeria with global expectations, the entire nation witnessed with great deal of excitement, the official inauguration of Members of the National Road Safety Advisory Council (NaRSAC) by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. This inauguration formally unveils the responsibility of NaRSAC as encapsulated in the already developed plans of the Nigeria Road Safety Strategy document II (2021-2030).

To most of us that do not understand how important this feat is to the transportation sector, I owe you a duty of explanation. To begin with, the National Road Safety Advisory Council (NaRSAC), is the highest critical governance structure saddled with the task of implementing the Nigeria Road Safety Strategy (2021-2030) document. Part of its responsibility is to give strategic policy direction and coordination to the other administrative organs like the Technical Working Group (TWG) and the States’ Road Safety Advisory Councils (SaRSAC). The membership of the Technical Working Group (TWG) is drawn from the FRSC and the State Governments States Motor Vehicle Administrators constituting State Traffic Management Agencies and Vehicle Inspection Offices. Other members of the TWG are the Police; relevant MDAs, Professional Associations, Women Union and the Media.

The NaRSAC itself is headed by His Excellency, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Membership is drawn from Six Governors, with one representing each of the six geo political zones;. Other members are Honourable Ministers in critical Ministries of Transport, Works, Health, Justice, Education, Finance, Environment, Police Affairs, Interior, Budget and Economic Planning, Federal Capital Territory, Information, Labour and Productivity. NaRSAC also have membership drawn from the National Security Adviser; Presidents of, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Nigerian Society of Engineers; The Chairman, Federal Road Safety Commission. The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps who serves as Member/Secretary.

The Advisory Council’s major responsibilities include meeting the National Road Safety Strategy target(s), effective co-ordination of the Federal, States and Local Governments to ensure that expected targets are achieved, anchor the implementation of the NRSS, as well as ensure adequate evaluation of outcomes of national road safety initiatives. They are to further ensure the development of a funding plan for strategic initiatives, source funding for implementation of strategic initiatives, plan out the disbursement of pre-approved funds, monitoring the disbursement of funds and review monitoring and evaluation reports. The Council may also perform other strategic functions as it deems fit to enhance round the clock road safety administration in Nigeria.

Let me carefully elaborate more on the Nigeria Road Safety Strategy (NRSS) document to bring to bare, a clearer understanding of the document being the catalyst that will drive the initiative to a joyful realisation. This NRSS document is simply the nation’s response to the call for safe use of the road. The document provides a clear direction towards achieving the vision for road safety, using the globally accepted Safe System Approach for managing road safety. The document speaks volume of the growing national consciousness on issues of road safety, the spirit of collective responsibility and determination to reduce the level of Road Traffic Crashes and ensure that neither deaths nor serious injuries result from these crashes.

In addition to the afore stated facts, the document portrays the vision of a country where Road Traffic Crash results in no death. It also seems to achieve reduction in road traffic crash fatality rate by 50% by the year 2030. This document is a very important, proactive and timely intervention which supports the process of entrenching the culture of safe use of Nigerian highways, the impact of which includes better quality of life for citizens and the socio-economic growth of the nation as a whole.

The NRSS document recognises that road safety is multi – faceted and therefore outlines the responsibilities of various tiers of governments and NGOs, seeking to harmonise the different road safety efforts by emphasising the vision, goal, purpose, output, outcomes as well as the initiatives for road safety management in Nigeria. The NRSS, when fully implemented, is envisioned to transform Nigeria into a country where road traffic crashes result in zero death. It also projects a goal of 50% reduction in road traffic crash fatality rate by year 2030, in line with the SDG goals.

Part of the positives of this development is that it will enhance stakeholder engagement, spur the need for sustained funding, Promote sustainable transportation modes, provoke effective enforcement and infrastructure development, as well as speed up aggressive public awareness and education.

To add verisimilitude, since the document made provision for cascading the initiative to other tiers of government, State Governments must as a matter of urgency and necessity begin to establish and inaugurate the State Road Safety Advisory Council (SaRSAC). To that end, Deputy Governors who are the Chairmen of this initiative in their respective states should torr the line of the Vice President to enable Nigeria collectively achieve the goals of the NRSS and ultimately attain the aspirations of the SDG Goals.

-Deputy Corps Marshal Bisi Kazeem (Rtd), fsi, anipr FISPON, a veteran road safety professional and a public relations expert, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

INTERVIEW WITH TOHEEB DELE-BALOGUN; A CREATIVE ADVERTISING EXPERT AS HE TELLS HIS STORY ABOUT HIS RECENT BOOK PROJECT
~BY CHINEDU NSOFOR

Please can you start by sharing a bit about yourself and your background? What led you to pursue your current field?*

My name is Toheeb Dele-Balogun, and I’m a Nigerian based in Lagos and in the UK. I work in the creative side of advertising, where I tell stories for brands. Currently, I am Partner at The hook Creative Agency. My role involves creating impactful brand ideas and communication strategies for private and public institutions. I have always believed in the power of storytelling to shape individuals and society at large.

So how have you been telling these stories over the years?*

I was copywriter for along time. I did campaigns for most of the top brands in Nigeria and won lots of industry awards. I still tell brand stories now but my role has evolved. I consult for brands as a Partner at The hook. And I am currently exploring other forms of storytelling, particularly, fiction. I have a book coming out later in October 2024. It’s called Don’t Tell these stories. In fact we just did a pre-launch show at Creative Bloc Carnival.Interesting. What were the highlights at the Pre-launch show?*

Creative Bloc Carnival is an annual event. I used the carnival to preview my book. The reaction to the book project was massive. “Don’t Tell These Stories” is a thought-provoking collection featuring about 70 short stories. These include stories on child marriage, moral decline, patriotism, politics among others. Each story addresses a different human issue, and the book is an artwork in its execution. It is unique and rare in its format.

See, I wanted to rekindle the passion for reading by presenting the book in ways that attract the modern reader. You will pick it up if you see it, it’s irresistible. The cover will immediately attract you. Once you start a story, you will finish it because it’s short. We’ll produce copies in different forms; for instance, one version will be entirely black with white text, limited to only 10 copies. Then, there will be burnt copy. These ones will have visible burnt scars on them and impactful visuals inside, it will be available at the exhibition later this month and will be sold in Art galleries across country. Lastly, we will have the basic copy, it’s text only. It will be available in bookstores across Nigeria and, globally, on Amazon.com and their kindle platform.

What inspired you to write this story?*

About ten years ago, I stumbled on this six-word story written by Ernest Heminway, For sale: baby’s shoes. Never used. Tt’s about a pregnant woman who bought shoes for her future child, but tragically, the child never got to wear them. The story is really brief and profound. So I gave myself a challenge to write something similar. This project started as that, six-word story. With time I discovered that some stories couldn’t retain their profoundness within the limit of six-words. I became more flexible with the number of words I used but I as still committed to using the least number of words possible for as long as the story is profound. In Don’t Tell These Stories you will find stories that are just six words and other that are more, in fact most of the stories can be described as very short stories, not six-word stories. I didn’t want to box myself with number of words. I followed my muse.

*Q: Why very short stories?*

Times have changed. We live in the most distracted era ever so literature as we know it needs to evolve as well to keep performing its function in shaping the consciousness of society as large. I am writing for the distracted generation. Thomas Hardy wrote Tess of the d’Urbervilles for people without Television, radio or digital entertainment. He wrote for people that will queue to read the news bulletin. His writings were accessed by most people that could read then. Literature and fiction, as a genre, were the mainstream entertainment. So people that could read had their consciousness and morality shaped by the works of these great authors. Overtime, literature has been struggling to have that kind of influence because of the influx of other active entertainment platforms. Most people that could read now don’t see literature as the go-to entertainment. The percentage of literary audience among the large literate population is decreasing every year. We need to do something about it.

I’m writing for a people with fleeting attention span. I want to do fiction that will actually be read by most people that can read and I hope to have profound effect on their consciousness using the least number of words possible. All the feedback I have had on this project have been exciting. “I will totally read this”, I have heard that from countless number of people during preview sessions.

How do stories shape the society?*

We are shaped by things we experience. If people are exposed to low-thought materials on social media it will influence the how they think and perceive the world around them. There’s no vacuum in nature. Literature and its long form structure have struggled to keep up with the evolving reading audience. That needs to be fixed. Literary works are not just stories, they are philosophical gems delivered in stories. I aim to improve the quality of thought and conversation with my work. The stories in my book might be short but a lot thought went into writing every single line.

Can you give a general view of what the book is book?*

The themes I explored are today’s: the external pressures on relationships, the daily conflict with conscience, japa, race, morality, traditional values that we need to regain and those we need to lose among others. There’s a story that I really like, it’s titled Viral Hugs:
John’s depression tweet got 30,000 likes, 10,000 shares. And zero phone call.

The story is really short but it’s gained traction among younger audience that are living in the dual reality of digital vs physical worlds.

Looking ahead, what upcoming events are you most excited about?*

I am most excited about my upcoming exhibition on the 27th of October, which will take place in Lagos, Nigeria. It’s an exclusive event to launch my project. The exhibition is set to fully explore the multi-modal nature of the book, Don’t Tell These Stories. We’re creating a space for people to not just read, but experience these stories and make memories off it.

What is your long-term vision for these project? How do you hope they will evolve in the future?*

My long-term vision is to take my exhibitions beyond Lagos. I plan to host book shows and exhibitions events in various cities across world. After I’m done with Lagos, London is next.
There’s a universal aspect to my stories and I think the world should experience it.

What challenges did you encounter while writing this book, and how did you overcome them?*

Honestly, I didn’t face many external challenges, but I did struggle personally. There were moments I had doubts on proceeding on a story because of its sensitive nature but I remind myself that that’s the whole essence of the book, Stories that shouldn’t be told.

The stories are thought-provoking and addresses themes that some might find uncomfortable. I have pushed through that internal struggle and defied self-doubts to finish the project. I was able to pushcthrough because of the support of family, my partners at The hook and my creative sparring partner, Ayo Ishola. They have all made these project a reality.

What impact do you want your project to have on the world?*

To make the world a better place: from the level of the individual to the world at large

Thank you for making out time to have this conversation*

Thank you for having me.