UMUAHIA—Abia State House of Assembly has waded into the issue of alleged exorbitant school fees charged at Government College, Umuahia, which has caused disenchantment among parents and old boys of the institution.

It was gathered that Government College, Umuahia, charges N1 million as tuition  fees, among others.

The House of Assembly’s action followed a petition written to it by an old boy of the school, Mr. Chukwudi Onwudinanti.

Speaking on the petition, the Deputy Speaker of the House,  Austin Meregini, disclosed that the petition had already passed the first reading on the floor of the House.

He promised that the House would ensure that the vision of the founding fathers of the school was not truncated by the introduction of exorbitant school fees that would make the college above the reach of the poor.

Meregini, who is also an old boy of the school, disclosed that he and many others wouldn’t have attended the school if the school fee was so outrageous during his time as a student.

In the petition addressed to the Speaker of the House through the House Committee Chairman, Public Petitions Committee by Onwudinanti ‘s counsel, Ugochukwu Zik, the petitioner narrated how the present managers of the school have deviated from the vision of the founding fathers of the school.

Onwudinanti, who is an ex-student of GCU and a member of the registered trustees of Government College Umuahia Old Boys Association, GCUOBA, stated in the petition that sometime around July 21, 2014, the Abia State Government entered a Memorandum of Understanding, MOU  with GCUOBA to create a trust over GCU and to appoint GCUOBA as ‘trustee’ to the trust.

He said with this, GCUOBA was to take over the ownership of GCU as ‘trustee’ under a trust.

The petition read: “The GCUOBA in turn incorporated a trust known as Fisher Education Development Trust, FEDT, to segregate GCUOBA’s sundry activities as an old boys’ association from its duties as trustee of the education trust.”

“A few years after the successful takeover of the school by the old boys, some of the old boys entrusted with the running of the school deviated from the set goals, by introducing outrageous school fees that are out of the reach of the poor.”

Onwudinanti stated that the education offered by GCU has become inaccessible for the  majority of the people, contrary to the vision of GCU founders meant to provide a level-playing

ground to acquire quality education for all bright students, irrespective of economic and social status.

“As we speak, GCU’s annual school fee is above N1m. The current

controllers of the school have shut out brilliant children within Ibeku

and Umuahia East State Constituency from quality education.

“What is more disheartening is that folks who have set up this new socio-economically ex-communicating structure would not have been able to attend GCU in their days based on the respective economic status of their families at the time if the original owners of the school had set up the present bourgeois system as is presently constituted.”

He urged the House of  Assembly to invoke and exercise her oversight functions over the outrageous school fees in GCU.

Efforts to get the reaction of the Chairman of the Governing board of the school were unsuccessful.

However, a member who preferred anonymity stated that they decided in the best interest of the school.