All is not well in federal government colleges, also known as unity schools, as parents are alleging various misconduct against the management. They also accused leaders of Parents/ Teachers Associations, PTAs, of imposing illegal levies on them in connivance with school management.

Also, some parents allege that some school principals and teachers collect as much as N600,000 to secure admission for their wards and children.

Checks by Vanguard showed that the situation has degenerated to the point that some parents have petitioned the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, to probe the activities of some PTAs and the managements of some of the schools.

In Lagos State, for instance, parents and guardians have loads of complaints against the PTAs and the managements at King?s College, Lagos; Queen?s College, Yaba; Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba; as well as Federal Government College, Ijanikin.

Allegation of admission racketeering

Some parents, who spoke to our correspondent in confidence, said they paid between N500,000 and N600,000 to secure admission for their children in some of the colleges.

?The college has been having principals, but this one is perhaps the worst in the history of the school. Even when students met the admission threshold, and should have been admitted on merit, you still have to pay some money. Some parents paid as much as N600,000 to get admission for their children. This is uncalled for,? a parent alleged.

The parents called for special attention to be paid to unity colleges in Lagos because they are the ones most parents want their children to attend and the pressure for admission there is high.

Illegal levies

The issue of unapproved levies being collected by principals is also giving parents concern.

Religion levy, which had been optional was made compulsory by one of the principals and an aggrieved parent wrote on the PTA WhatsApp platforms; ?Religious fee has always been optional but since the new principal came, that has changed.

?Every parent must pay N1,000 per term as religion levy. Many parents don?t want it, yet they are being forced to pay.?

Parents are also complaining about the way they are extorted when they pay visits to their wards during approved periods.

?If care is not taken, you may not have enough money to take you back home when you visit these schools. You will pay for brooms, fans, toiletries and so many things. It got so bad that some parents now form groups and are sending one or two to check on their children, knowing that if all of them should go, they would all pay one fee or the other,? a parent said.

Parents petition education minister

A group of concerned parents whose wards are in Queen?s College has sent a petition to the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa.

A copy of the petition sighted by our correspondent read: ?Dear Minister of Education. We, concerned parents of students at Queen?s College, Yaba, Lagos, humbly write to seek your urgent intervention regarding persistent and unauthorised financial demands placed on us by the school?s PTA and management ? in clear violation of Federal Government?s directives.

?Despite your ministry?s circular dated 19th March 2025 (Ref: SAF.27/S.12/1), which approved a maximum PTA levy of N12,000 per term for all Federal Unity Colleges, Queen?s College continues to charge N21,500 per student. This is not only unlawful, but also places an unbearable financial strain on many parents, especially in these challenging economic times.

?While other unity colleges are adjusting their levies in line with the directive, Queen?s College, QC, remains adamant and unyielding. Unfortunately, this has become the norm at QC over the years ? parents are continuously burdened with extra charges such as paying N200 just to sit on a chair during visiting days.

?Worse still, we have been made to pay salaries of PTA-employed teachers, with claims that the Federal Government does not supply adequate teaching staff.

?This has resulted in a situation where PTA-employed teachers outnumber federal teachers, raising serious concerns about how the school is being managed. It now feels more like a privately-run institution than a Federal Unity College.

?We have pleaded and appealed on several occasions, but our concerns are consistently ignored. We are now exhausted and left with no other option but to seek your direct intervention.

Please, sir, come to our aid. Queen?s College should not be allowed to operate outside the policies and principles that guide Federal Unity Schools.

?We respectfully request a ministerial investigation and immediate action to restore order, transparency, and compliance at Queen?s College. Thank you for your attention and continued dedication to the education sector.?

PTA Chairman at Queen?s College reacts

In trying to douse tension among parents, the Chairman of the PTA at Queen?s College, Yaba, Lagos, Oluwayomi Ojo, reacted to the complaints by some of the parents in a post on the PTA WhatsApp platform.

Ojo wrote: ?Fellow parents of QC, let me start by apologising for responding 24 hours after the agitation started. I had a very tight schedule, at the same time, I have to take time to gather my thoughts and listen to everyone. It was not a deliberate neglect. NO!

?You see, I have a very humble background, I understand what it takes to be poor, and I can tell the stories. As a son of a school principal, I also understand the need to prioritise the education of our children in the midst of poverty as an investment that gives 100% dividends.

?From my point of view, the idea of paying N17,000/ N47,000 per term from the government and not provide enough teachers and making the environments conducive for learning is a trap set by the government to ensure that the children of the masses are not given the quality of education needed to compete with their children globally and locally. Thankfully, they allow PTA to come in.

?If you have access to some of the dilapidating infrastructure in this 90-year-old school and closely dissect the living and learning conditions of these kids, as a responsible parent with least conscience, I bet, you will never be proud of yourself.

?You will wonder how they survive six years in these conditions, some of which are of great health risk.

?You can?t have access to the information I have and still behave like a normal parent which you are. Out of compassion, you will be pushed to do something to improve the living and learning conditions of these children.

?The body language of the school is that ?if it is good enough for you as parents, we don?t have problems with that?. No sane parents will fold his arms. I will be more than happy to take your reps on a tour of the facilities by next week, for an on-the-spot assessment, ask them to prepare an independent report and share with you. There is no way you will know what the EXCOs know, see what the EXCOs see in QC and not empathise with the kids.

?From the last regime, the PTA has always been living on loans (from banks or loan merchants) to pay salary round the clock. The question is ?do we still want to pass on the torch of indebtedness?? I have shared evidence with your reps and I am happy to do it again.

?The decision to take advantage of the N7,000 difference is not borne out of wickedness on the side of the EXCO, far from it. Our thought process is that after significantly increasing our teachers? salaries which all parents agreed that is long overdue, let?s collect this money to improve the conditions of our children, after all, it is not a sin to school in QC.

?For example, in a class of 60-70 girls without a single working fan, how do we expect the teacher to effectively teach with the current heat? How do we expect the girls to focus? Teachers are complaining, learners are grumbling, and parents are cursing, but PTA needs to do something. If you are proud that your beloved daughter lives and learns in such condition, I am not.

?From the little we have collected so far, we have: Ensured that water flows in all the floors of the dorms and in the classes; provided clothes lines in all the dorms; improved the sanitary condition of the school by providing necessary tools, facilities, and support; and made sure the hostels are bug-free every term.

?We have also provided fans to all JSS1 dorms; paid over N6 million as salary, taxes, pension savings for office staff, and allowances to our staff up to date without owing anyone; supported the school whenever they called for our assistance; and prep are powered without disruption during power outage

?For those asking us to remove some items from the bill after the FG directives that we can increase the PTA levy, it is a mathematical case of ? x + + x. It takes us back to ground zero because we were already in minus state.

?What we intend to do with the extra funds: Significantly increase our staff salary. Currently, the least paid, which is in the majority, gets N50,000 for teaching and N25,000 for non-teaching. We all know they go to the same markets with us. Some of them are bread-winners of their families.

?Install fans in all the classrooms and some of the dorms too; adequately addressed the decayed infrastructure of the dormitories, a good number of which pose health risk; rebase the PTA treasury so that debt is not passed on as ?torch?; and employ more teachers where absolutely necessary.

?Yes, we heard your voice, it was loud and clear but honestly, our hands are tied as explained above. But to shift ground as a proof that we heard it, The PTA shall introduce ?sibling discount? for parents with multiple queens. We will also work on reducing the transaction charge collected by our vendors.

?We do not want to receive backslash from the money we did not spend. Henceforth, we are going to remove access card and possibly religion dues from the list of compulsory items and leave the beneficiaries to find a way of collecting it themselves if you want that.

The total PTA money as it stands is N19,000 and not N21,500 as wrongly projected. If at the end of the day, the Ministry of Education fulfills her promise by absorbing our PTA staff. This will definitely reduce our burden, depending on the percentage they absorb; we will all sit down to review these payments again.

?Fellow parents, I believe, this is a sacrifice to make life better for our kids since government has technically neglected their (our kids) welfare, it seems we have to take our destinies in our hands. I crave your understanding in this matter at this point in time. This too shall pass!??

No respite too at King?s College

At King?s College on Lagos Island, the situation is not different as parents are also slammed with fees far above the recommended N12,000 by the Federal Ministry of Education.

Apart from the PTA levy of N12,000, other sundry levies include money for diesel, teachers? wages, among others.

A message sent to parents read: ?Greetings esteemed King?s College Parents. in view of the series of reactions generated by the recent hike in PTA levy by the ministry and to put the records straight, please find attached, the breakdown of the payments under PTA Portal (Compulsory and Optional) for all classes.

?Compulsory fees for JS1, JS2, SS1, and SS2: PTA levy ? N12,000; diesel ?N2,000; teacher?s wages ? N5,700; international languages ? N2,500

?Compulsory for Boarders only: Feeding support ? N2000 ?Optional fees: Mid-day meal ? N15,000; Laundry ? N9,000; and Barbing ? N1,000

Parents at FSTC reject increase in levy

Parents of students at the Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba, have also rejected the increase in PTA Levy.

The aggrieved parents in a statement addressed to the principal, did not only reject the increase, but also accused the PTA executive committee and school management of lacking transparency and accountability.

The levy was increased from N7,500 to N12,000 per term.

Parents drag themselves before EFCC in Ijanikin

At Federal Government College, Ijanikin, the PTA members dragged themselves before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, about two years ago over the manner funds running to about N40 million were allegedly misused.

The then leadership of the PTA and some members did not only take the matter to the anti-graft agency, but also went to the media to make public what was going on.

Three students, whose parents were seen as the arrowheads of the agitation, were suspended.

Two were later recalled, while the other one is still in court battling the management of the college for suspending him.

While the leadership of the PTA has changed, the situation has not been normalised, as the issue of how money collected from different levies by the PTA is being spent remains.

Parents? lamentations

Parents are also complaining about the movement of payment from Remita to Flutterwave.

A parent wrote: ?Another development is that QC has moved payment of PTA levy from Remita to Flutterwave. The question is why move from a platform which takes just a token to one that?s charging N1,000 and above??

Another parent complained: ?In whose interest is this? What?s the preference for Flutterwave? The chairman?s response was that they are just trying to see what other options have to offer. Why?

?I wonder why the new PTA fee cannot commence from next session. Some of us don?t even have strength to fight again, we have fought for KC platform now QC and we are still paying for door, it is well with all of us.

?My only worry is that the PTA money is more than the school fees, meaning next term, I should start thinking of PTA fees instead of the school fees,? said one parent.??

PTA not another administrative structure in schools ?Minister

during a recent visit to Lagos, Education Minister, Dr Tunji Alausa, in an interaction with journalists, decried the situation where PTA had turned to another administrative structure in unity colleges.

According to him, PTA is just an oversight body, not another structure dictating how the colleges are run.

He said: ?When we were growing up, PTA used to be just an oversight body, to put teachers in check and ensure that everything runs well. Now, PTA has turned to another administrative structure in our schools. It is not acceptable.

?They now run a parallel organisation in schools. It is a failure of the past governments. If they had recruited more teachers, things would have been better and we would not have this monster.

?I appreciate PTA for what they are doing but they have gone beyond their bounds and calling. They are just meant to be voluntary oversight body. Government has not given any PTA the mandate to increase levy. We will frontally address this problem.

?Let me tell you what we are doing now. We have taken the NEEDS Assessment of our unity colleges to see the number of PTA teachers that are there, their skill sets and see if we can move them to the federal civil service.

?We have put a stop to hiring those PTA teachers in our schools. PTA cannot hire teachers that are unable to meet the requirements of being employed into the federal civil service.

?It pains me that when we go to our unity colleges, you see PTA teachers that have been there for donkey years. The one I saw at Queens College the other day has been there for 27 years and the woman is paid N50,000 monthly.

??She is even considered lucky as they said in some places, they are paid N30,000. As a government, we are working to fix that. We are doing an audit of the situation. We are going to move those who are qualified to the federal civil service and I believe the President will approve that.

?We are also investing heavily on infrastructure in our unity colleges. This year, the President has approved N40 billion to rehabilitate our unity colleges, N20 billion for fencing and security in the schools and another N20 billion for the provision of solar energy. That has never been done. (Vanguard)

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