COVID-19:N25,000 Test Fees Imposed By Ogun State Gov. To Returning Students Sparks Protest
The decision of the Ogun state government to impose a compulsory N25,000 payment for COVID-19 and malaria tests for returning boarding students in private schools has sparked protests from parents.
The Senior Secondary three students (SS3) are expected to recommence schools ahead of their West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), but the government has declared that each student must undergo a test as a precondition for admission into school, according to a Daily Trust report.
The government had stated that no boarding school student would be allowed into schools without a certificate of COVID-19 test which must be negative.
While the COVID-19 test is free for public secondary school students, their counterparts in private schools are to pay a N25,000 fee.
The parents who have their wards in private schools reportedly went to MTR 250-bed specialist hospital, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the designated place for the test on Sunday, August 2.
But they could not get their children tested for free since they were asked to pay N25,000 for each child.
The parents who were against the decision reportedly protested and blocked the entrance of the hospital while the health officials hurriedly deserted the place.
Speaking on behalf of the parents, Kehinde Sanwo, the vice-chairman, parents teachers association of one of the private schools in the state accused the government of discriminating between students in private schools and their counterparts in public schools.
Meanwhile, the Association of Private Schools Owners of Nigeria (APSON) has expressed fears that there would be ‘mass failure of students in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) billed to commence on August 17.
Daily Trust reported that (APSON) on Thursday, July 30, attributed its prediction to poor preparation of students due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Bishop Godly Opukeme and Bishop Elakhe Imoukhede, chairman and national director of administration of the association in response to the federal government’s directive that schools should reopen for academic activities on August 4, only for exit classes.
The statement stressed that to avert mass failure, there should be four to six weeks of academic revision to allow students to adequately prepare for the examination.
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