The Cross River State House of Assembly Committee on Education has threatened to merge all teachers, proprietors’ and principals’ associations in the state if they continued to promote acrimony, divisions and crises.
Chairman of the committee, Martins Achadu gave the warning on Tuesday after a stakeholders meeting with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS.
It would be recalled that NAPPS in the state has been embroiled in crises leading to factionalisation.
Achadu noted that factionalisation of associations impacts against educational interests of children in the state.
Achadu stressed that what is paramount to the state and her committee is to ensure that no child due for WAEC was deprived of the opportunity to sit for the examination because of crises in the association.
The committee advised the Ministry of Education to bypass the association and register students due for WAEC without necessarily obtaining clearance from any of the NAPPS factions.
“The permanent Secretary should please liaise with the Ministry of Education and ensure that any private schools are free to register for WAEC. As it stands, we are taking both factions of the association to surgical room. They are undergoing proper surgery.
“Please allow everyone who who comes to you for WAEC registration. Disregard this issue of NAPPS registration fee for now so that we don’t hurt ourselves because of NAPPS registration fee receipt and clearance.”
Factional president of NAAPS in the state, Sir Godwin Okwu, alleged that the previous EXCO led the association as if it was a private estate without accountability to members.
Okwu urged the Ministry of Education not to allow any of the factions of NAPPS collect levies from proprietors of schools on the ministry’s behalf.
He advised the ministry to directly collect levies meant for government by themselves during registration of students for the 2025 West African Examination Council WAEC.
Another factional leader, Pastor Abraham Osok said he reserved his comment on certain issues.
He insisted that he remains the NAPPS President in the state.
