The Kano State Commissioner of Education, Muhammad Sanusi Kiru, has issued a November 1st deadline to private school proprietors in the state to slash down their school fees by 25 per cent or it will cancel the third term of the 2019/2020 academic session.
The Commissioner stated this in a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday.
Kiru said the decision was for the school owners to reciprocate gestures it enjoyed from the State Government by extending the same magnanimity to cushion the hardship on the parents occasioned by the covid-19 pandemic which had a socio-economic effect on the general public.
He said it has set up two ad-hoc committees to meet with the proprietors to that effect and failure to reach a resolution will attract the action by the ministry.
According to him, “the decision of the Ministry became necessary in consideration of the hard economic condition experienced as a result of the lockdown due to the menace of COVID-19 which affected both socio-economic positions of the general public.
“I set up two parallel Ad-hoc Committees to discuss with owners of private schools on the percentage of school fees (25%) they are to reduce as done in about 4 – 5 states or we cancel the 3rd term of the 2019/2020 academic session so that the academic calendar will commence with a new session in January 2021.
“Proprietors of Private Schools should show some sign of appreciation for the support they enjoyed from the State Government and extend the same magnanimity to the good people of Kano State.
“If by 1st November 2020 there is no positive response, the Ministry would be left with no option than to take such a revolutionary decision in public interest,” the Commissioner, Kiru however stated.
Recall that the state government says it has fumigated and provided Personal Protective Equipment, PPEs, for schools including private schools ahead of schools re-opening for the exit classes and others after seven months of closure as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
