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The Enumeration Committee of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s homegrown feeding programme has uncovered 349 ghost schools in Nasarawa state. The Committee discovered that some officials were pocketing the money meant for school meals. Two officials were suspended and replaced, however, calls to remove Nasarawa state from the programme were rejected in order to avoid punishing the poor children benefiting from the scheme.

The African Union report shows that at least 57 percent of people who make contact with schools in Malawi pay bribes. Informal payments threaten children’s rights and welfare. For example, informal charges by teachers for teaching, and for additional items such as school meals, books, uniforms or exams can drive poorer students in particular to miss school. In addition, the acquisition of fake or fraudulent qualifications affect the learning outcomes of children.

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs last week interviewed three agencies that recruit and offer scholarships to local students to study abroad. The meeting came in the wake of revelations that a number of Zimbabwean locals have been falling prey to dubious agencies based in Harare who offer fake university scholarships to study in Cyprus with most students ending up stranded in the island country. Many of these students end up being forced into crime and prostitution in order to survive and pay for their tuition. The Zimbabwean Government is currently seeking the release and extradition of three Zimbabwean students who are held in prison in Cyprus for drug trafficking.

Calls for greater government action have been made as university students have emerged as prime targets for Ponzi scheme fraud. This after at least 4,000 students from one university were threatened with expulsion after they diverted their tuition fees worth a total of US$6.5 million into an online Ponzi scheme which has since suspended its operations without explanation. At Osun State University over 4,000 students were served with notice that they may be expelled from the university if they failed to pay, by the end of February, all outstanding tuition fees. At a time of severe economic recession, the loss of the investment adds pressure on parents, many of who are victims of Nigeria’s massive unemployment rate.

The President has denied the claim of schools to charge monetary lunch fee for pupils under the Universal Primary Education (UPE), arguing that this program was conceived for poor families that could not afford additional fees. Besides, he declared that the pay of un-necessary amounts of money will create additional barriers to the free UPE as the ones that already exist; expensive uniforms, books, tours and others items.