Last Wednesday, there was an announcement by the Oyo State government that it would stop sponsoring candidates for the West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examinations.

It cited paucity of fund and the need to address abysmal performance of candidates from the state in the examination.

Apart from stopping payment of the fee, the government also announced that each pupil would start paying N3000 Education Development Levy per session, which would be paid in three installments spread over each of the three terms.

Further explanation of the new policy indicates that promotional examination would be re-introduced while mock examinations would also be conducted before the final secondary school examination.

All these, the government explained, would prepare the candidates for WASSCE and put a stop to the poor performance of the state candidates.

On Thursday, the Oyo State governor, Abiola Ajimobi, told our correspondent that the decision was temporary, adding that as soon as the state finance improves, his government would revert to the old order.

He also said the decision to introduce the levy was taken after it was discovered that parents were no longer involved in the educational development of their children. Ajimobi said the Parents Teachers Association, community leaders and individual parents were engaged in a discussion before arriving at the decision.

“The state government studied all the aspects of education and we asked ourselves questions on what could be responsible for the abysmal performance of our candidates in the WASSCE. We found out that among other things, many of the parents did not bother to care for their children.

“Training of children is not a sole responsibility of government or teachers, parents must play their roles too. We discussed with the parents and realised that since parents were not in anyway involved in the education of their children, they did not bother about what happened to them.

“Parents should show concern about their children’s education. We set up a committee to discuss with PTA, community leaders, individual parents and so on. Interestingly, many of the parents felt that if they were also contributing by paying a token, they would pay attention to the education of their children.

“With the paucity of fund for the state, we had to face the reality that we cannot continue to sponsor children without involving their parents in a way. This was why we introduced the developmental levy but it’s just for a period of time, as soon as things improve for the state financially, we will put it down. It is an emergency situation that we must address,” the governor added.

However, the policy has received backlash from various sectors in the state with some calling on government to reduce its spending on less important ventures in order to help indigent students who cannot afford to pay WASSCE fee. Others are of the opinion that the state’s education policy of shouldering responsibilities of parents would not offer quality education in the short and long run.

Parents, who spoke to our correspondent on the development, gave diverse opinions that supported and opposed the government’s new policy.

Isaac Akinade, who has two children at Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo, said the state government was caught in its own political game and gimmick but praised it for having the will to reverse the old policy which he described as destructive.

He said, “Over the years, the state government has always made political policies to ensure it won a second term in office and I think it worked only on one end. It was a policy that destroyed values in our secondary schools. When you sweat to pay for a commodity, you will value it. Government has nothing to do with the payment of WASSCE fee; it’s the role of parents. That way, they will monitor the progress of their children.

“I am also happy that promotional examination has been re-introduced. I once failed a class and after repeating it, I came out better. If you promote poor and excellent pupils to the next class, quality and class are eroded and the poor ones will never be better.”

A trader in second-hand clothes at Alesinloye Market, Ibadan, Mrs. Atitebi Aofolaju, whose husband works at a confectionary company in Ring Road, Ibadan, said the cancellation of payment and introduction of fee is elitist.

“We are not all the same. We had relief with the government paying fees. Instead of stopping the payment, there are many other areas that the government can review to save more money. The future of our children relies on how much the government can help. I don’t make N1, 000 daily as profit and there are days when I go home without anything. If you refuse to sell on credit, customers will go elsewhere. My two daughters, who are twins, will write their final examinations next year at the same time. Imagine how hard that will be on me and my husband,” she lamented.

Some of the pupils who spoke to our correspondent on Friday were more concerned about having to face real promotional examinations after evading it for some years. Some of them, however, said their parents would have to fund their education if government hands off offering full free education.

Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the state, Waheed Olojede, told our correspondent on the telephone that government had acted on the advice of the Nigeria Union of Teachers in the state for the benefit of quality education.

He said, “Free education should not extend to payment of external examination fee for candidates. What we are saying is, now that the government has come out to hold the bull by the horn, it has taken the advice offered by the Nigeria Union of Teachers over the years. Such fund used for WASSCE fee payment should have been committed to strengthen and improve the quality of instructional materials and infrastructural facilities; such that our schools will wear the look we are used to in those days. Schools must be pupil-and-teacher friendly.”

Olojede added that the government should use the money it is saving to equip laboratories, libraries and prioritise the welfare of teachers. He said the principle and practice of education recognise parents as major stakeholders.

“They should be allowed to take responsibility and be committed. When the results are released, students and parents do not bother about the results because they have no stake in it. If parents take responsibility, they will be concerned about their children’s preparations and results. It’s a laudable decision,” Olojede said, while also urging parents to face the reality of the state poor finance and pay the EDL of N3000 per session towards education of their children.

Chairman of the PTA in the state, Jimoh Abiodun, said the state carried it along before taking the decision. He also appealed to other parents to consider the poor finance of the state.

He said, “The government called us to several meetings explaining the current situation and how it had to adjust its spending. We cannot do anything about it. The government is the owner of the schools and the children belong to the parents. We have to cooperate to give the children good education. All we can do is to urge the parents to pay the levy and their children WASSCE fee. We have to adjust to the new situation.”

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