Parents of pupils attending private schools in Ogun State have protested government’s decision to charge N25, 000 on each child before testing them for COVID-19 ahead of their resumption on Tuesday, August 4.
The state had asked SS3 students to resume school on Tuesday, after spending over four months at home as a result of a nationwide halt of academic activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The reopening is to allow the students to prepare for the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) slated to begin on August 17.
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However, the state government said that COVID-19 and malaria tests are mandatory for returning boarding students as part of the conditions for school resumption. While the test is free for public secondary school students, their counterparts in private schools are required to pay N25, 000.
The parents who besieged the MTR Specialist Hospital, Abeokuta, venue of the test, said they were not prepared to pay for the test querying the rationale for such test in the face of the biting consequences imposed on parents by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The protesters also faulted the state government for imposing levy on students of private schools while their counterparts in public schools were tested free, noting that such disparity was against the electioneering manifesto that brought in the present administration.
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According to them, the governor, Dapo Abiodun, promised to give the people free education and maintained that COVID-19 test shouldn’t be compulsory for students since the state government had instructed all schools to make adequate provisions for testing of their students before they resume in their respective schools.
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The Vice Chairman, Parent Teachers Association (PTA) of one of the private schools in the state, Dr Kehinde Sanwo, who spoke to journalists at the venue, wondered why the government should discriminate between students in public and private school when all children in the state were supposed to be treated equally.
“The parents here are good citizens of Ogun State and we are taxpayers. And it is so disheartening that we are here at the MTR hospital the venue for COVID-19 test”.
“When we arrived here today, we were told to pay N25, 000. Whereas, some people who arrived earlier paid nothing. So, we don’t know where the decision came from. Some of us have more than two children. Why these segregations?” she queried.
A parent identified as Talabi Jamiu who complained on Twitter said “Peaklane School Alagbole is charging 25k for the test which very unreasonable considering what parents had gone through during the lockdown. Our dear Governor should kindly look into this and do something
Another parent identified as Olayinka Mustapha, said, “Well understood. But anything that places additional financial burden on parents at this time is not a good move and needs to be reviewed immediately. All over the world, this is the time governments are cushioning effects of the pandemic on citizens. We must do same pls.”
The Director of Public Health, Dr Olukayode Soyinka, said he was not aware of the N25, 000 test levy on private school students.
Soyinka said the test before now had been free, stressing that he was just instructed by the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, to make himself available at the venue to provide a conducive environment for the students.
He, however, said the test was organised by the state government in conjunction with a private laboratory company, 54gene, under the Public Private Partnership arrangement. An official of 54gene declined comments on the ground that he lacked the power to speak to the media.
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