Parents Protests As Queen's College Jerk Up PTA levy to N21,500

 

Some parents under the aegis of Concerned Parents of Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos, have accused the school management and the Parent-Teacher Association of extortion through “unauthorised” levies despite clear directives from the Federal Government.

In a petition addressed to the Minister of Education and exclusively obtained by The PUNCH, the aggrieved parents claimed they were being compelled to pay over N21,500 per term as PTA levy.

This, the petitioners claimed, was nearly double the government-approved cap of N12,000.

The petition, signed by Mr Anthony Enahoro, read, “Despite your Ministry’s circular dated 19th March 2025 (Ref: SAF.27/S.12/1), which approved a maximum PTA levy of N12,000 per term for all Federal Unity Colleges, Queen’s College continues to charge N21,500 per student. This is not only unlawful, but it also places an unbearable financial strain on many parents, especially in these challenging economic times.”

The petition also accused the school of ignoring multiple pleas and described the situation as one that makes Queen’s College feel “more like a privately-run institution than a Federal Unity College.”

They further alleged that they were being forced to fund the salaries of PTA-employed teachers due to the alleged shortage of federal teachers—a responsibility they said shouldn’t fall on their shoulders.

“Worse still, we have been made to pay salaries of PTA-employed teachers, with claims that the Federal Government does not supply adequate teaching staff. This has resulted in a situation where PTA-employed teachers outnumber Federal teachers,” the petition further read.

They also flayed what they described as an “illegal” foreign language fee, allegedly imposed on about 650 Junior Secondary School three students preparing for the Basic Education Certificate Examination.

According to them, students have levied an N2,500 foreign language charge, an amount not reflected on the official school bill but captured under PTA fees.

When The PUNCH reached out to QC PTA chairman, Mr Oluwayomi Ojo, he maintained that the PTA levy was N12,000 not N21,500.

“Get yourself a copy of the invoice and see for yourself. The person who gave you my contact must have an invoice that details all the payment items including the PTA levy. My side is that PTA levy is N12,000, not N21,500,” he said.

He continued, “I want to lay to rest, by this, the erroneous information that QC PTA increased levies. We have not done so.

“For close to 20 years, if not more, the PTA levy, as set by FME, had been N5,000. Everyone knows what that can fetch today. A few weeks ago, the FME decided to do the needful by increasing the levy to 12k.

“The PTA, from time to time, solicits parents to pay some dues to augment the levy to be able to assist the school when necessary, for example, when fuel became very expensive.

“The government has done so much by making education very affordable at N17,000 per child and N30,000 for boarders.

“Finally, I want to reach out to the parents through this medium that all our requests are as agreed at meetings and only to improve our wards’ comfort in school. I believe that these complaints emanated from parents who don’t attend our meetings.”

Source - https://punchng.com/parents-report-queens-college-to-fg-over-n21500-pta-levy/