By our correspondent
Mission and private schools in Anambra state have been directed to pay N182.000 to the state government to obtain the video camera they will use to check examinations during the forthcoming West African Senior School Certificate Examinationsl.
A source from the Ministry of Basic Education who preferd anonymity told our correspondent that the state consultant on public schools is in-charge of the procurement of the cameras.
He said that private and mission schools in the state must get the IP camera before their schools will be given clearance to write the WAEC examination.
A group of proprietors and school administrators of private/mission schools at the Ministry of Basic Education at Jerome Udorji Secretariat, Awka, told Emerald News that they have been put at the tight corner as many of them do not have such amount of money to spend when they have in the time past acquired the cameras.
The proprietors/administrators told Emerald News that they have explained to the Commissioner for Basic Education, Prof. Kate Omenugha that they have in the past bought IP cameras in line with her directive which approved them for WAEC clearance in previous years.
This medium learnt that the private school administrators complained bitterly over the development, questioning why it should be now that the examinations are getting very close that they must he told to procure cameras.
According to our sources, Anambra State Association for Private School Owners has sued the ministry of education for that, adding that the court is yet to sit.
They complained that the IP cameras they acquired before now were still functioning and remained good to use for the video coverage of the examinations.
Some of the people who responded to our questions were asking the reason why they were ordered to pay the huge sum of money in the bank to change the receipt in the ministry when they all have bought the camera the first year the ministry mandated them to do so.
Emerald News gathered that the state government has also got the cameras for all the public schools in the state.
