The Akwa Ibom State government has demoted a school principal for extorting students with unauthorized charges, violating the state’s free education policy for basic education.

This was announced by the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Idongesit Etiebet, in Uyo over the weekend. Etiebet warned all head teachers in public schools against imposing illegal fees on students, threatening severe penalties for non-compliance.

Although the commissioner’s announcement did not disclose the principal’s identity, she confirmed that the demotion letter was prepared and would be delivered soon. “A school head in the state will soon receive his demotion letter on account of extorting illegal charges from parents of pupils in his school,” she stated.

During an event organized by the Ministry of Education for distributing ARISE-branded exercise books to public primary schools in the Uyo senatorial district, Etiebet condemned actions that undermine government initiatives. She assured that “the governor is committed to ensuring a smooth and efficient education system in public schools in the state.”

Addressing teachers, school administrators, and other stakeholders, Etiebet emphasized, “There is no room for any fee in public schools as the state is sustaining the free and compulsory education policy. I want to use this opportunity to warn all headteachers to do your best, do not collect money of any kind from students, or else you would be demoted with immediate effect through the appropriate disciplinary channels. Next week, you’re going to hear that we are sending (a letter to) a headteacher who demanded the sum of N1,000 from all new intakes and also extorted N5,000 from each pupil to give them their placement letters. This was a very unjust act and so he will face the consequences,” she stressed.

John Udo, a member of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), announced that investigations into the allegations were complete and that the process of refunding the illegal charges to parents in affected schools had begun.

“Education is free in Akwa Ibom State. You have not been asked to collect money from any student,” he said, praising the governor for the timely payment of counterpart funding for all Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) projects in the state.