By Akinwale Kasali
The Anambra State Governor has disclosed that it has taken disciplinary actions and launched a formal investigation into the controversial incident involving the sale of Head Prefect Nomination Forms for N5,000 to Pupils in a Private Primary School in the State.
The outrageous action, taken by the school, Blossom Fount School, located in Awka, Anambra State, has triggered public outcry and condemnation.
Pupils aspiring to be Prefects School were asked to purchase a nomination form at the cost of N5,000.
Condemning the action, the Anambra State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, disclosed that the Government has swiftly intervened and taken initial steps to address the situation.
According to the Commissioner, the teacher, directly linked to the allegation, has been placed on a one-month suspension, while a Special Committee has been set up by the Ministry to thoroughly investigate the incident.
Prof. Chuma-Udeh explained that the school, during preliminary engagement with the Ministry claimed that the idea of selling the Nomination Form was only mentioned during a Parents Teachers Association, PTA, meeting and was thereafter dropped following widespread opposition from Parents.
The Commissioner, however, noted that the school claimed it remained unclear how the said form still found its way into circulation, which was attributed to the actions of the now-suspended teacher, whose identity is yet to be revealed.
She further described the alleged act as reprehensible.
The Commissioner said it amounted to planting seeds of corruption in the minds of innocent Children and turning leadership into a transaction rather than a merit-based responsibility; even as she warned sternly that such practices have no place in the educational system of Anambra State under Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration.
According to her, such act is a deeply troubling attempt to commercialize student leadership and exploit children’s ambitions for financial gain, and is absolutely unacceptable.
“We must protect the dignity and rights of children in our schools,” she stated, further reiterating the commitment of the Soludo-led government to upholding ethical standards and fairness within the school system, and warning that any form of exploitation or extortion, whether in private or public schools, would be met with stiff sanctions.
She also revealed that the Ministry will again engage with the school authority this week and possibly with some Parents and some of the Pupils anytime soon in the course of the investigation.
She emphasized that further details would be withheld pending the conclusion and the outcome of the Committee’s investigation.
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