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Registrars and bursars of state-owned tertiary institutions in Bayelsa State have said that the leadership of the six tertiary institutions have not increased schools fees.
The declaration by the registrars and the bursars have laid to rest the widespread rumour that the management of the Niger Delta University had increased tuition fees in the institution.
The bursars and the registrars made the clarification in a meeting presided over by the Chief of Staff Government House, Rt. Hon. Talford Ongolo, which was also attended by the Commissioner for Education, Hon. Jonathan Obuebite, his Labour, Employment and Productivity counterpart, Chief Collins Cocordia and the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, on Tuesday
They bursars and registrars who expressed shock at the wild rumour stated further that their records showed that students were paying what was paid in the last academic session.
Meanwhile, the Bayelsa State Government on Tuesday restated its committed to the full implementation of the ongoing public sector reforms in the state.
The Commissioner for Education, Hon. Jonathan Obuebite, made the comment during the meeting with registrars and bursars of state-owned tertiary institutions in Yenagoa on Tuesday.
Obuebite stressed that the government would ensure a thorough implementation of the reforms in the tertiary institutions across the state.
He commended the bursars for making what he described satisfactory presentations on the situations in their respective schools especially on the issue of school fees and members of staff affected by the reforms.
Obuebite said that while the government would sustain the policy of giving subventions to the schools, the institutions were also enjoying the necessary encouragement to boost their internally generated revenue in order to make them more independent.
TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS: GO, TAKE CHARGE, BAYELSA TELLS GOVERNING BOARDS
In a related development, the Governing Boards and Councils of the various tertiary institutions in the State have been charged to take full responsibility in the affairs of the institutions and address the concerns raised by the various unions on the implementation of the reforms.
The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, in a statement on Tuesday, made the call following repeated requests on government to intervene in a matter that is strictly within the purview and power of the governing boards to handle.
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The government spokesman said that it had become imperative for the governing boards to take full charge in the affairs of the institution and ensure a holistic implementation of the ongoing public sector reforms in the schools.
Iworiso-Markson recalled that the Miyebo-led Committee held series of meetings with the governing boards and councils where agreements were reached on pertinent issues which included the workforce that each of the tertiary institutions
He stressed that the government decided to commit N630 million as subvention to the six tertiary institutions of the state as fall out of decisions reached during the meetings that subventions should be given to the schools in accordance with standard practice.
He said, “In those meetings, a decision was reached with a clear policy of placing the various tertiary institutions on subvention as is the norm everywhere especially as it relates to government funding of tertiary institutions.
“The government spends a total of N630 million as subventions on various tertiary institution in the state the breakdown of which includes:
- NDU: N350m;
- Isaac Jasper Boro College of Education: N100m;
- College of Health Technology Otougidi: N40m;
- The Polytechnic Aleibiri N50m;
- University of Africa N75m, and,
- International Tourism Institute N15m.”
Iworiso-Markson advised union leaders to be wary of the antics of disgruntled politicians on a mission to use them to destabilize the polity.
He called the attention of the unions to the activities of mischief makers with plans to incite the public against the government through the utterances of Labour Leaders.
He enjoined the union members to adhere to the rules guiding the operations of the public service by “exploring the proper channels to seek redress rather than resort to granting interviews to the media with the intent to blackmail and incite the public against the government.
