By CHARLES IWUOHA

Parents and Parent Teachers Association (PTA) executive are currently bickering over alleged financial irregularities in Federal Government College, Enugu.

The parents complained of some excessive billing by the PTA executive as well as having some money paid to an account which is not a Federal Government Remitta account.

The spokesman of the concerned parents, Mr. Chris Agu, accused the leadership of the PTA for unilaterally laying off all teachers recruited by the PTA in the school that the parents pay some stipend each term to keep their services.

Agu said: “They were sacked after serving for between 10 and 14 years during the end of the first wave of COVID-19 and no parent was informed, or they reverted to the old PTA fee of N1,000 per term as we longer have any PTA-teachers.

“Again, the sacked PTA-teachers were owed three months salary and were not paid the three months salaries as at the time of disengaging them.

“The PTA executive also collected N65,000 from parents of fresh students (JSS-1) without paying to the Federal Government remitta account and it duly receipted.

“They claim it was meant to get some basic provisions for the fresh students: which included mattress, school uniforms, school lockers, tables and desks, torch light and other miscellaneous.

“From all market standards, the items were below N65,000. Even till today, some students are not sleeping on the mattresses to be provided after the payment but some sleep on the floor or share a mattress with other fellow students.”

Responding, the school PTA Chairman, Mr. Chima Nwodo, said that the allegations were never true; adding that the PTA-teachers are part time teachers, engaged by the recommendation of the Principal.

Nwodo explained that it was at the recommendation of the Principal of the school, Alhaji Raji Adewale, after he received 32 teachers from the (Federal) Ministry (of Education) that he stopped PTA-teachers who are having duplicating functions with the Ministry’s permanent teachers.

He said: “However, about 90 per cent of them, representing over 50 of them, had been recalled. We are making efforts to clear the debt owed the PTA-teachers.

“During the lock down we lost a term and additional time running almost six months and there was no PTA levy paid and we do not have anywhere to generate their monthly payment rather than the PTA levy each term.”

The chairman further explained that the N65,000 being paid into the PTA account was a fall-out of an agreement at the last meeting had by Principals of unity schools/colleges in Kano.

He said that the PTA is just the custodian of the money to checkmate the principals and school managements and ensure value for money for the parent.

He said that both the PTA executive and school management did a joint market survey to arrive at the N65,000.

“The whole idea by the Principals at the Kano meeting was to have uniformity and the right colour or texture of uniforms both for day and boarding for students as well as uniformed class lockers, table and desk, mattress sizes, etc.

“We have provided all these materials for the fresh student and nobody, I repeat no student is sleep on the bare floor as was alleged.

“The market survey we did was never on the high side and any other person can verify the cost of these materials in the market today,” he said.