The Joint Committee of the Association of Private Schools in Kano State, has asked the state Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, to caution his Special Adviser on Private Schools, Baba Abubakar Umar over what they described as his “unguarded statements” on them.
They also called on the SA to retract the statements as well as the allegations labelled against them, or they would consider the next line of action.
Chairman of the joint committee, Engr. Bashir Adamu Aliyu, made the call at a press briefing in Kano on Wednesday.
The SA was reported to have alleged that the schools had been evading tax despite collecting huge sums from parents.
He added that the schools were harassing some of the staff members of the agency and attempted to bribe them.
Umar also alleged that a private school in the state had hiked its fees three times in a year, without recourse to the current economic reality of the country.
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But Engr. Aliyu said all the allegations were baseless and not true.
He said, “We want it to be on record that we are compassionate and reasonable Nigerians that respond to the yearnings of parents, and given the hyperinflation that the nation has found itself in, where even unity schools have tripled their school fees from N37,000 to over a N100,000, which no private school will ever contemplate doing.
“We are loyal citizens of Kano State and the guidelines provided by the state government in increasing school fees have always been followed, but even where due process has been followed, Baba Umar keeps abusing and creating collusion between the schools and the parents.
“We hereby demand Baba Umar Abubakar to publicly apologize and withdraw his false and baseless statements.”
When contacted, the Special Adviser to the governor on Private and Voluntary Institutions, Alhaji Baba Umar, said that all private schools were required to complete new registration forms immediately, as the government had initiated a process for the issuance of fresh certificates.
Umar explained that the action underscored the government’s resolve to ensure that private schools adhered to the prescribed laws and regulations for operating in the state.
The state government also had directed the private schools in the state not to increase the school fees for the 2023/2024 session.
According to Baba, the state government’s decision to reduce the fees was to lessen the economic hardship being faced by parents due to the fuel subsidy removal.
“As we said earlier some of them are operating illegally and some operate below standard. We have set up an endorsement committee to go round private schools to ensure compliance.
“We want to be fair to all. Although some of the private schools proprietors are ready to comply, some of them are trying to be stubborn,” Baba said.
