Parents Lament Massive Extortion At School Of Nursing Science In Cross River

By Fortune Erim

Parents of students of Nursing Science, Ititgi in Abi Local Government Area of Cross River, have decried massive extortion in the school.

Some parents and students who disclosed to CrossRiverWatch said the school management drives joy extorting from students.

“There’s a lot of extortion and exploitation going on there, the school is being run or managed as if they don’t have anyone overseeing them. I keep wondering if the said school is not under the supervision of the Ministry of Education or Health in the Government of Cross River State. I mean, even if it is a private school, I think the Government has a level of checks on them,” a parent expressed.

The parents and students who wouldn’t want their names disclosed due to victimization said the recent impromptu payment was that of September 21, 2024, when students were informed to pay one hundred and fifty thousand (N150,000) Naira for council exams that is expected in November 2024 with two days deadline to pay up or forfeit the exams – automatically losing spent years in study.

“Most of us are civil servants for crying out loud, Where will some of us parents cough out a whopping sum of N150,000 between  21 and 23rd of September,” one of the parents quarreled.

A student shared: “They have been demanding and collecting illegal monies on several occasions from us students in the past. Before the end of last year, they took students for experience at Obudu and Calabar and collected N30-45,000 on each occasion. Our school fees range from N240 to N270,000, with no receipts for most subheads. This year, the following payments have been made: Indexing N50,000; Experience at Ugep N30,000, Care Study Topic Approval N20,000, Projects Topic N20,000, Projects Supervision N60,000, Council Exams N150,000, and others.”

“If truly this money goes to the government’s account, there should be receipts given. There should be good timing for such payments to be made, I mean long notification of the closing date. At least a month or two to allow parents to get the money,” another parent questioned.