'Grown fat on our pay' Model college parents forum accuses Lagos officials, principals of defrauding them

The Coalition of Chairmen and Executive of Lagos State Model Colleges Parents’ Forum has said the authorities of the schools are expending the funds provided by the government and the feeding fees that parents paid for personal use.

The chairman of the coalition, Mr Dapo Dawodu, made this known on Wednesday at a meeting in Ikeja, where they petitioned the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly over the increment in the feeding fee of students across the colleges.

Recall that in July, the Ministry of Education increased the fee from N25,000 to N125,000 but it was rejected by parents after which Lagos government reduced it N50,000.

However, the parents said there was no justification for the increment.

Dawodu complained that the state government officials and principals of the model colleges were feeding fat on the fees they paid.

“The state officials and the principals have grown so fat on our pay and talking down on us. Ask any parent on the day of vacation, the children look like Ethiopian refuges. It is either they take the N30,000 or no increment.”

He also said the parents’ forums in the state had been contributing to the development and growth of the schools through provision of amenities and infrastructure.

Dawodu said, “We have petitioned the Speaker of the House of Assembly and we sent same to the Commissioner for Education and the governor. It is about the proposed increment of feeding fee and our rejection is not based on plea but on the fact that Lagos State has a policy of free education. From our calculation, a child doesn’t need more that N18,000 to feed in three months. The highest we can do is N30,000 and this is to take care of other contingencies.”

Effort to get the Lagos State Ministry of Education to react to the allegations of the parents proved abortive as the Public Relations Officer, Mr Ganiyu Lawal, promised to send his response when our correspondent visited him at the state secretariat.

However, as of press time, he had yet to send his reaction.