FG bans PTA development levies, realigns fees in unity schools

Moved by the plight of parents of students in Federal Government colleges, the Federal Government has banned the collection of development levies by the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) in the unity colleges across the country.

Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who announced this on Tuesday, in Abuja, said the ban was with immediate effect.

He added that no PTA of any unity college is allowed to initiate any development project without the express or written authorisation of the Federal Ministry of Education.

Adamu, who announced this in a statement he signed, said the new measures were aimed at arresting the shocking trend where development levies imposed on parents by PTAs were becoming higher than the school fees charged by government which established the unity schools.

“Citing examples of PTA collections which have become higher than school fees charged by government, the minister gave the examples of Kings College, Lagos and the Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba where the fees charged by government for JSS1 in the first term is N69, 400, while the PTA collections stand at N70,000 and N74,000, respectively per child for the same first term.

“This brings the total paid by parents in the two schools to N139,400 and N143,400, respectively.  With the reduction on development levies and ban on charges for new projects as well as pegging of the development levy to a maximum of N5,000, parents of JSS1 in these two schools will now pay N88,000.

“While acknowledging the complementary roles played by parents and the support provided by the PTA to the colleges, the minister said he would not allow the PTAs to constitute themselves into a government within a government at the level of unity schools and at the expense of parents.

“Adamu Adamu said government views with grave concern the activities of PTAs in unity colleges – which have even formed themselves into national associations, instead of limiting themselves to the schools where their children attend,” the statement read in part.