Series of outrage has erupted from parents of students in private secondary schools in Ogun State, Nigeria following the imposition of N25,000 COVID-19 test levy on students in the state.
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According to a report obtained from Daily Trust, graduating students are billed to resume schools tomorrow ahead of their examinations.
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The government had earlier mandated each student to undergo a test as a precondition for resumption, claiming only students certified free of COVID-19 will be allowed into the school premises.
However, parents alongside their wards in large numbers visited 54 gene COVID-19 Mobile Lab located within the state-owned MTR Specialist Hospital, Abeokuta, for COVID-19 test, only to be informed of the payment of N25,000 per student.
The parents then became agitated and staged a protest against what they called monetisation of the test.
They also queried why the government would impose any levy on students of private schools while their counterparts in public schools were tested free, arguing that the disparity was against the electioneering manifesto that brought in the present administration of free education.
In resolution of the issue, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Communications, Remmy Hazzan denied what the parents called segregation, saying “It’s not segregation, but a show of magnanimity by the state government.”
He said the parents are free to approach any certified COVID-19 Lab Centre to ensure their wards get tested and cleared free of the virus.