The Federal Government has promised to set up a formal negotiation team between the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and relevant stakeholders to look into the recent hike in school fees across the country.

Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu who made the disclosure on Friday in Abuja at a news conference to herald the commemoration of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, said there was need to look into the matter to avert further attacks as the hike in school fees could be a core factor leading to attacks on schools.

He said: “So many areas that require finances are being attacked but we must also look at the constitutional provisions. The constitutional provisions expressly state that free education but with a caveat ‘when the government can afford’ and that is why it comes also as a voluntary contribution by all stakeholders.

“When we say safety in schools, it is a collective responsibility. So we are going to encourage formal negotiations. Where we cannot provide, it is to encourage PTA and relevant institutions so that we can agree to a term that is acceptable to all of us.

“Also, we will encourage a lot of partnerships as part of areas that can bring peace. Whether we agree or not, we must appreciate the role of PTAs in sustaining services in lots of our schools at both local and federal levels.

“So, while we do that with scarce resources, at the ministry level, we try to see how we can block leakages and see how more funds can be available to schools to ensure that quality education is affordable, acceptable to every Nigerian without decreasing the quality of education,” he said.

Sununu who further disclosed that the Federal Government had ratified the Safe School Declaration in December 2019 and developed a safe school policy in furtherance to upholding the right to education in emergency situations, pledged the ministry’s commitment to developing learning centres in Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) camps as well as providing relevant information on threat assessments to the schools at all levels.

“Nigeria in recent past has had more than a fair share of attacks on our education system at all levels. These attacks are not only physical but also non-physical, especially in deliberate attempts to water down our standards of education.

“The Federal Ministry of Education, in partnership with relevant stakeholders, have put in place various strategies to deal with these attacks. All our efforts would be geared towards implementing the safe school policy for all. The pre-activities of the celebration include playlet, dance, drama, poetic rendition and quiz competition.

“The presentation by learners is expected to emphasise the need for collaboration and focus on school safety policy for implementation guidance by all stakeholders,” he added.(New Telegraph)