Delta State Government has reacted to an online viral video where a pupil was reported to have been sent out of school for lack of school fees.

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, in a statement in Asaba on Friday noted that it was wrong to have put the blame on the shoulders of the Delta State Government as public schools in Delta State are completely free from tuition fees.

The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a virile video online of a little girl purportedly from Delta State where she alleged that she was driven from school because her parents were unable to pay her school fees.

“We have also watched the video and read several comments on the matter where mischief makers tried to put culpability on the State Government. While we empathise with the little girl and her parents over her ordeal, it is important to state that Delta State Government runs free education at both primary and secondary school levels in all public schools in the state and therefore it is impossible to assume that the little girl was sent home from a public school in Delta State.

“It is also pertinent to state that the Okowa led administration since assumption of office has built and reconstructed over 4,000 classroom blocks and provided furniture, learning and instructional materials to public schools in the state with a view to making them conducive and competitive with the private schools.

“The Government has equally trained and retrained teachers in the employ of the State Government with a view to making them adapt to modern teaching techniques hence the establishment of an ultra-modern Teachers Training Institute at Owa-Oyibu Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State.

“In order to fill vacancies created by retirements in recent times, the State Government has equally directed the Post Primary Education Board (PPEB) to advertise for the recruitment of qualified teachers in critical areas such as the sciences.

“Finally, if any parent wishes to take his or her child to a private school despite the availability of public schools in most locations across the state, the government cannot prevent such parent who feels he or she can afford to pay the requisite fees charged by the private schools from doing so.”

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