The Delta state Commissioner for Secondary School Education, Mrs. Rose Ezewu and principals of schools in the state are at loggerheads over the alleged imposition of N20,000 on the school principals to purchase the governor’s portrait.
The secondary School principals vowed to shutdown schools in the state if the illegal purchase of the governor’s portraits was not reversed.
According to Blueprint the Commissioner constituted education monitoring task team, led by one T. Edah, to compel all principals in the state to make payment on or before the end of the month or face wrath of the commissioner.
A source speaking on condition of anonymity said the monitoring team and the principals recently met at Osubi Grammar School where the issue which generated bad blood was raised but ended in deadlock.
According to a source in the Education Ministry, the commissioner set up a monitoring task team without the involvement of the Ministry of Secondary Education to rake in about N20m from the 489 principals and 25 Chief Inspectors of Education (CIEs).
The commissioner had insisted that “the governor’s photo and her own were compulsory for all public secondary schools at the cost of N20,000 each, targeted at a whooping sum of N20.560m from 489 public secondary school principals and 25 CIEs in the state”.
It was further gathered that Mrs. Ezewu had appointed one Israel Akpukeri “director” in the ministry, to inform them (principals and CIEs) the need to comply.
The circular had read, “I am directed to inform principals and CIES to collect the photograph of His Excellency and that of the HC secondary at the office of the honourable commissioner. This is to be placed in the CIES’ offices and all principals’ office”.
Following this development, the “illegal taskforce team” went into actions, raiding schools to collect the said money from the school authorities, but with resistance from majority of the Principals who were ready “to fight back” to paralyze the academic activities”.
Sources hinted that principals from Uvwie and Oshimili South councils have already complied with the payment.
Some of the principals who wouldn’t want their name in print said “enough is enough, because the commissioner had been milking us since she returned in this second time on the ground that nothing would happen, after all”.
They also claimed that the commissioner had visited them at various times both in Ughelli, Warri and other places for her endless drive for kolanut (about N30,000 from school heads to wedge Kola), and she is now moving from one CIE’S office to another also expecting same entertainment from them.
