The Ondo State Government has banned cash payments in public schools as part of measures to curb alleged extortion and unauthorised levies imposed on pupils and students by school authorities.
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, announced the policy during a meeting with executives of the Association of Bursars of Secondary Schools in Akure.
Ajibefun said the government had introduced a digital payment gateway through which all financial transactions in public schools would be processed and documented.
He said all payments would now be made through the approved gateway, while cash payments in public schools had been banned.
According to the commissioner, the policy is intended to improve transparency and prevent school authorities from exploiting parents and students through unauthorised fees and levies.
He said the digital payment system would take effect from the new academic session and warned principals and other school officials against collecting money directly from parents or students.
Ajibefun said the new system would also make it possible to identify and prevent the collection of illegal fees in public schools.
The commissioner said the decision followed complaints from parents during the last academic session about alleged illegal and unauthorised collections in some public schools.
He said he subsequently visited some schools to verify the complaints and discovered that unauthorised collections were taking place, allegedly involving school authorities.
Ajibefun said the findings prompted the ministry to work with stakeholders and a technical team to develop a system that would make financial transactions in public schools traceable.
He said the initiative had been approved by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, adding that funds paid through the platform would be remitted to the appropriate school accounts.
According to him, the initiative would address existing abnormalities in the management of school finances.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Dr Akindele Ige, urged school bursars to work with other stakeholders to understand and properly implement the new payment system.
The Chairman of the Association of Bursars of Secondary Schools, Fisayo Fapounda, described the initiative as a positive step towards improving transparency in school financial management.
He urged the company handling the payment gateway to engage with bursars and ensure they were adequately trained to prevent misinformation about the system.
