Economy

THE Parent Teacher Association, King’s College Lagos, says it expends over N58 million yearly as intervention to sustain the goals of the founding fathers of the 113 year-old institution.

The Chairman of the association, Mr Sunday Ameh, said this at a news conference on Friday in Lagos.

According to him, the body will not relent in its resolve to collaborate with the college, in its quest to sustain moral and academic excellence among students.

Ameh was speaking against the backdrop of reports in some quarters that the association was imposing unjustified levies on parents.

The reports alleged that the levies were outside the government-approved N5,000 PTA levy per term, for all the unity colleges across the country.

Some online media reported that some parents had stormed the main campus of the college on Thursday, in protest of an alleged imposition of extra PTA levy by the leadership of the association.

They were also said to be protesting against claims that the management of the college, had made it mandatory to transfer all day students to the boarding facilities.

Reacting, the chairman debunked the claims, describing them as malicious, wicked and misleading.

“Just yesterday, I learnt that a group of persons, who claimed to be Kings College parents, came to the school gate and were protesting.

“I was not on campus at the time. However, let me make it clear that our doors have always been open to listen and address all concerns of parents.

“The issue in question is that we had an emergency PTA meeting on July 30, to attend to some pressing matters, including academic, issues of indiscipline, high cost of items and others, that we could not attend to, before students embarked on vacation.

“All of these was to ensure that we improve and sustain standard of the college and provide conducive environment for teaching and learning to thrive.

“At that meeting, therefore, having tabled all the challenges facing the college, parents, having looked at the issues critically and in their magnanimity and wisdom, came up with a resolution to assist the college in anyway possible, in a bid to keep it going.”

He said a motion was moved and was seconded by other parents, and they agreed that they would be paying an extra N3,000 aside the N5000 PTA levy paid every term.

This, the chairman said, was to cushion the effects of the challenges raised by the association’s executives.

“For the purpose of clarity, the decision to pay this extra levy was strictly made by parents.

“It has nothing to do with imposition or increase in levy of PTA by the executive or by the college management, as being speculated,” he said.

Ameh expressed surprise at the news, noting that it was misleading and disturbing.

He said that the extra levy was to assist in the area of diesel and waste disposal for both campuses.

Ameh also gave an insight into areas of intervention by the association,

He said that disposal of waste generated in both campuses and the generation of power was depleting the meagre resources of the association, in the face of the current economic reality.

“Before now, for instance, we used to do evacuation of waste with the sum of N200,000 on both campuses per month.

“This has since changed, especially with the high cost of diesel currently.

“Since the issue of high cost of diesel, the cost for PSP covering King’s College has jumped N70,000 per trip, which is now done weekly.

“We managed this for about two months and it has put us in a very high cost of maintenance. We can no longer carry out other tasks on these campuses, aside evacuation of refuse,” he said.

Amen said that the PTA, however, had teachers and non-teaching staff on its salary bills monthly, which amount to N4 million.

“We have a total of 53 teaching staff and 22 non-teaching staff, making a total of 75 in all, on our payroll.

“Aside this, we also handle cleaning of the two campuses and pay N320,000 monthly to our cleaning contractors, N560,000 to clear the incinerators in both campuses, as well as maintenance of electricals and plumbing issues.

“In all of these, we achieved without any extra leveies. It is from our meagre resources,” the chairman exlained.

Similarly, the Principal of the college, Mr Andrew Agada, debunked stories making the round that all students of the institution had been mandated to live on campus as boarders.

He said there was no way such could be feasible, considering the fact that the college lacked the facility to achieve it.

“On the said day at the meeting and based on past experience, I discussed with the parents on the possibility of having all the JSS 1 to JSS 3 students as boarders, as there was enough space for that.

“Other students aside this category, are already exiting, and for them, it is still optional.

“We never made any comment saying that all the students must be boarders, as we do not have the capacity to do that.

“The essence of my proposal is to better manage these children, both morally and academically. It will check late coming too, truancy and aimless roaming around,” he said.

Ameh said there were instances where a few students had been involved in accidents  right in front of the college gate.

“I personally rushed them to hospital, picked up the bills, before contacting their parents.

“These, and other acts of indiscipline is what we are trying to check and nothing more.

“There was no time I mandated an all-boarding mode for the college,” Agada said.

He appealed to parents not to be deceived by what he described as malicious intents of mischief makers. (NAN)

KN

Tags: Andrew Agada King’s College Sunday Ameh