• As schools’ resumption records a low turnout
• Plateau govt bans multiple uniforms, graduation parties, work textbooks

Parents of school children in Rivers State have called for a ban on unnecessary items in schools following rising economic challenges, excessive spending and low income.

The parents lamented high demands from schools, which were causing undue financial pressures and sometimes affecting their health.

Meanwhile, The Guardian’s checks revealed low turnout of pupils and students yesterday, as the new academic year commenced in Rivers State and parts of the country.

At one of the schools visited, a parent who came to register her 11-year-old girl child at Community Secondary School, Rumuekini, in Obio Akpor Local Council Area of Rivers State, Mr ZabulumIkedi, lamented that the state government no longer uphold its policies of free education.

Ikedi lamented that heavy financial burdens like some fees, books and uniforms are now being shifted to parents.

He said that such challenges, including poor infrastructure and a lack of furniture, no longer make the public schools attractive.

Meanwhile, the state government, through the Ministry of Education, yesterday embarked on monitoring of school resumption, which recorded low turnout of students.

The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Ndidi Chikanele Utchay, expressed dissatisfaction with the turnout of students at schools, urging parents to release their children to commence the academic year.

Similarly, the Chairman of the Rivers State Basic Education Board, Sam Ogeh, also led board members on an inspection of public schools.

He expressed the commitment of the government to immediate measures to address the shortfall of teachers in the state, particularly in the basic education sector.

IN the same vein, the Plateau State Government has declared a full clampdown on excesses in schools, outlawing multiple uniforms, flamboyant graduation ceremonies, and the culture of writing inside textbooks, among others.

This followed a high-powered Stakeholders’ Engagement on Education convened by the Ministry of Education in Jos at the weekend, where critical issues bedevilling the state’s education system were subjected to intense deliberation.

The engagement resolved that students must only purchase textbooks for reference and study, while all classwork and assignments must be done in notebooks.