Crisis As 1,210 College Students Feeds Into The Hand Of Fraudster With Their School Fees

Tension is brewing among staff and students of the Federal College of Education (FCE), Zaria, as 1,210 students have been found to have paid their school fees to fraudsters.

 Speaking with our correspondent, the Registrar and Bursar of the

college, Dr. Jibril Lawal and Alhaji Muhammad Sani Uwais,

respectively, confirmed that the said students have paid their school fees to wrong hands.

 “It is true that 1,128 students and additional 82 were found to have

not paid their fees into the college’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) with the Central Bank of Nigeria. The management have set up a committee under my chairmanship, and we are investigating the issues.

 So far, this is our finding. If there is any development, we would let

the public know,” Alhaji Uwais said.

 However, sources within the college had confirmed to Daily Trust that some management staff of the institution were the masterminds of the fraud. A source who said they have written a petition to the police put the amount involved to about N29 million.

 “This incident calls for independent investigation. The federal

ministry of education needs to set up a committee to investigate this financial scandal that is taking place in FCE, Zaria. This issue of defrauding students is just a tip of the iceberg. Therefore, if

management of the college is allowed to investigate this issue, it is

like a judge presiding over his own case,” the source said.

 When contacted, the Kaduna state police command’s public relations officer, ASP Aliyu Usman, confirmed that they have received a petition on the issue.

However, a police source told Daily Trust that some

staff of FCE, Zaria were invited by the police.

  The source alleged that “external influence is pushing for compromise on the case.”  

Parents of the affected students interviewed by Daily Trust appealed to the federal ministry of education to come to their aid.

 “I have been saving from my salary in the last three months to raise the school fees, only for my daughter to be told that her school fees did not drop into the TSA account. It means we have to pay another fee, and where would I get money? Government should do something to unravel the truth and make the management to refund our money, as the account where the students paid the school fees were provided by the college,” a father said.