Press release
Imo Free Tertiary Education: School Authorities Take over Distribution of
Cheques
In a bid to ensure that all eligible students receive their cheques under the
free tertiary education programme of Gov. Owelle Rochas Okorocha, the ministry
of education has mandated the management of the institutions involved to assume
the responsibility of distribution of the cheques.
This decision was reached after stakeholders in the education sector, top
government functionaries and traditional rulers met at Heroes Square to address
some of the problems encountered in the distribution of the cheques which
hitherto was handled by the traditional rulers.
Under the free tertiary education programme, students of Imo origin in Imo
state University and Imo Polytechnic are receiving N100,000 and N80,000 cheques
respectively for onward payment of their tuition fees. Their counterpart in Imo
College of Health Science Technology, Amaigbo, Nwangele LGA are receiving
N60,000.
The free education programme also run in both primary and secondary schools in
the state.
The state Commissioner for education ,Prof. Adaobi Obasi who disclosed this to
journalists as the sorting out the unclaimed cheques at Heroes Square
continues, said that the essence of the exercise is to identify students who
are yet to collect their cheques from their various traditional rulers.
The commissioner stated that the Ministry of Education has identified many
unclaimed cheques from the traditional rulers and has concluded arrangements to
distribute them to the students in the three tertiary institutions. “We
have collected these unclaimed cheques from Ndi Eze and then will continue to
issue out to our students who are yet to get these cheques. You can see we have
quite number of good cheques , we are continuing the free education programme
in the tertiary institutions”, she said.
She regretted that most of the students did not fill the free education form
properly which she said resulted to the issue of unclaimed cheques.
Also speaking, the chairman of Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH Eze
Samuel Ohiri disclosed that most of the traditional rulers have cheques for
students not from their autonomous communities .
Eze Ohiri also stated that part of the problem was that some of the students
travelled out for holidays and were not aware that the state government has
started distributing cheques for students in the three tertiary institutions in
the state,adding that the exercise will go a long way to harmonies the issue of
unclaimed cheques in the free education programme of the state.
The traditional rulers expressed confidence that the state government through
the Ministry of Education will by this exercise resolve the problems of cheques
distribution to the beneficiaries.
Ohale CC
Government House Press
February 5,2013
