ANAMBRA ASSEMBLY PASSES RESOLUTION TO ADDRESS HIGH COSTS OF TEXTBOOKS, UNIFORMS, AND EXTRAMURAL CLASSES 

By Chizoba Okeke  :

Anambra State House of Assembly has passed a resolution calling on  Gov. Chukwuma Soludo to direct the Commissioner for Education to engage public, private, and mission schools in the state to address the exorbitant costs of textbooks, school uniforms purchase from exclusively designated vendors and mandatory extramural classes.

The resolution was made following a motion moved by the Majority Leader and member representing Ekwusigo Constituency, Hon. Ikenna Ofodeme during the plenary session.

The Speaker, Rt Hon. Somotochukwu Udeze who presided over plenary read out the resolution and the lawmakers unanimously adopted it through voice votes.

Hon. Ofodeme submitted that the current practices in Anambra State Primary and Secondary Schools of using textbooks as workbooks, uniform purchase from exclusively designated vendor and mandatory extramural classes place undue financial burdens on parents and guardians, particularly for families with multiple children in the same school or classes. 

He argued that the trends are counterproductive and that the new introduction of textbooks and workbooks in one single volume especially is gradually killing the good culture of use of school libraries and families creating library in their homes.

He further said that the practice prevents families from utilizing textbooks across siblings, compelling them to purchase new copies for each child, regardless of their financial ability, thereby deepening educational inequality.

“These practices negates the state’s efforts to alleviate financial pressures on parents in line with our commitment to affordable and accessible education for all. The education policies in Anambra State should foster inclusivity, affordability, and sustainability in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” he said 

The Member representing Ogbaru Constituency I, Hon. Noble Igwe, his Anambra East counterpart, Barr. Obi Nweke, the member representing Nnewi North Constituency, Hon. Augustine Ike among other lawmakers, described the motion as life changing and shared same experiences of exorbitant costs of textbooks and school uniforms from same vendor provided by the school.

*Chizoba is of the Ministry of Information, Anambra State