Governor Chukwuma Soludo last year, declared a free education policy for pupils and students of nursery to Junior Secondary Schools in Anambra State while the Senior Secondary School students are expected to pay only five-thousand-naira school fees all in the efforts to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal.
ABS went around town to ascertain the impact of the policy on student’s enrollment in schools.
In some of the schools visited which include Community Secondary School, Okpuno, Ezeike High School, Nibo and Central school Nibo, in Awka South Local Government Area, the ABS News crew observed a high surge in the number of pupils and students in these schools more than what was previously obtainable.
It was gathered that a good number of out-of-school children are now back in school as well as many who were previously in private schools and are now in public schools because of the free education policy of the Soludo administration.
Speaking on the impact of the policy, the Principal of Community Secondary School, Okpuno, Mrs Maureen Emenam noted that students are surging to the school to the extent that the school management had to put a stop to the number of students that they are enrolling because they lack adequate structures to accommodate the number that are coming.
She applauded Governor Soludo for such an initiative saying it lifted a huge burden off the shoulders of parents and helped bring back to school students who have been out of school because of the high school fees.
On flouting of the free-education policy, Mrs Emenam advised Principals to endeavour to abide by the rules, saying if they lack enough money to run their schools, they should use the proper channels to inform the state government as well as explore the magnanimity of their school’s Club of Patrons to handle some capital projects in their schools.
The Principal of Ezeike High School, Nibo, Mrs Sabina Okpala, commended the Governor for the policy and the Club of Patrons initiative whom she said, has been of immense help to the school.
She mentioned some of the areas that the Club of Patrons have been helping the school to include reconstruction of Principal’s house, Coppers lodge, solar lighting of the whole school but noted that the school is still faced with challenges in the areas of inadequate teaching staff, insecurity because of uncompleted fence, non-functional school bus among others.
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