By Hou AKot Hou
Northern Bahr El Gazal State’s Ministry of General Education and Instruction’s Director General has warned local administrators against extorting fees for the second term ahead of the real-time or education announcement being made for the second term period.
Christopher Athian Door, the NBG Education Ministry’s Director General, warns those administrators indulging in the business of extorting money to cease or face the law.
“What we have learnt recently is that some school heads or school-masters have begun demanding that children call for second-term examination fees without any information provided by the Education Ministry from the headquarters here, which is a great fraud in itself,” said Athian.
He said it has come to their attention of late that many school administrators have begun extorting fees without a circular, which he says is a malpractice that deserves condemnation. He said those involved will be held immediately.
“With this announcement that we are making, people (teachers) need to heed this call of helping our destitute population whose children are struggling in the community where learning becomes hard as a result of economic woes that we all go through; why charge them when we have not announced the term two fees as official yet? Athian questions.
He urged county education directors in the counties to monitor closely those who would be found extorting fees from the learners.
“Some people are making excuses that elections are around the corner; therefore, we should have exams ready soon, and then they go ahead [and] ask parents to pay fees for the second term… Are we not part of the government that is conducting elections? When the time comes, we shall let the parents, teachers, and the pupils know,” he noted.
Athian urged the parents to cross-check the information from the right sources in the counties regarding any information about their learners’ costs, saying if anyone breached those details, he would be sought out and brought to the law to attest to his claims.
This highlights the problems that exist among the learners and the teaching staff whose pay is meagre, which forces them to sneak out of the system and find means of getting money to rescue themselves, which the educators say is more unlawful and hence becomes a corrupt practice.
It remains to be seen whether the information being declared by the DG will take effect, as many remain in far-flung areas where access to information is hard to find or hear.