The Chairman, Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), Evang. Olalekan Ifede has condemned in strong terms the report of school principals extorting students from partaking in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in the State.
Evang. Ifede expressed government’s dissatisfaction with some school principals alleged to have extorted students, during a stakeholders’ meeting in Abeokuta, saying the Commission received reports of unwholesome practices being perpetrated in some secondary schools by officials, described it as an act that is capable of jeopardising the developmental stride of the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led administration in the education sector.
Ifede, in a statement signed by his Press Officer, Mr. Rasak Sekoni, added that the Agency was using the stakeholders’ platform to warn those involved in the ugly trend to desist, noting that the alleged case of a principal in a school in Obafemi-Owode Local Government was worrisome and such an act should not go unchecked.
According to the Chairman, ’’Education is a formidable pillar of the ISEYA mantra and the government will continue to protect its interest and sanction any erring teaching or non-teaching staff after this warning.
“The stakeholders’ meeting was called to address the ugly trend and therefore the Commission is using the avenue to send a warning message to staffers who engage in such. For this reason, representatives of unions, Zonal Secretaries, Principals-General, and Associations here are charged to disseminate this information to their subjects in their respective localities”, Ifede submitted.
He emphasised that the government’s stipulated WASSCE fee remains ₦19,500 and the present administration would leave no stone unturned to make quality education affordable in the State.
Speaking on behalf of the stakeholders, the State Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools, Comr. Agbesanwa Felix, lent his voice to the TESCOM Chairman’s claim, saying his message was understood and would be appropriately disseminated. He added that they believe in the Abiodun-led government and would continue to support him in its endeavours.
