Distribution of cheques to tertiary school students in Imo State under the free education programme of the Okorocha administration has been transferred to the management of the various schools.

This follows a directive of the state the Ministry of Education after a meeting of stakeholders, top government functionaries and traditional rulers held at Heroes Square Owerri to address some of the problems encountered in the distribution of the cheques which hitherto was handled by the traditional rulers.

Under the free tertiary education programme introduced by Governor Rochas Okorocha, students of Imo origin in Imo State University and Imo Polytechnic are receiving N100,000 and N80,000 cheques respectively for onward payment of their tuition fees. Their counterpart in Imo College of Health Science Technology, Amaigbo, Nwangele LGA, are receiving N60,000.

The free education programme also runs in both primary and secondary schools in the state.

The state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Adaobi Obasi, who disclosed this to journalists, said that the ministry has identified many unclaimed cheques from the traditional rulers and has concluded arrangements to distribute them to the students in the three tertiary institutions.

“We have collected these unclaimed cheques from Ndi Eze and then will continue to issue out to our students who are yet to get these cheques. You can see we have quite number of good cheques, we are continuing the free education programme in the tertiary institutions,” she said.

The commissioner regretted that most of the students did not fill the free education form properly which she said resulted to the issue of unclaimed cheques.

Also speaking, the chairman of Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH Eze Samuel Ohiri, disclosed that most of the traditional rulers have cheques for students not from their autonomous communities.

Eze Ohiri said that part of the problem was that some of the students travelled out for holidays and were not aware that the state government has started distributing cheques for students in the three tertiary institutions in the state, adding that the exercise will go a long way to harmonies the issue of unclaimed cheques in the free education programme of the state.

The traditional rulers expressed confidence that the state government through the Ministry of Education will by this exercise resolve the problems of cheques distribution to the beneficiaries.

•Photo: Governor Okorocha.

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