According to one of the students, when they refused to pay, the teachers threatened to make life difficult for them in the days left to conclude their examinations.
Some teachers at Babs Fafunwa Millennium Senior Secondary School in Lagos State have been accused of extorting students taking the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Multiple students from the school told SaharaReporters that teachers are collecting N500 per subject from them under the guise of providing them with answers, commonly known as “expo.”
“They gave us ‘expo’ during the exam. After our exam one day, they called us outside and told us that we shouldn’t tell people about them giving us ‘expo.’”
Another student narrated how the scheme is being run.
“We paid N500 each for ‘expo’ during the Civic exam. After the Civic exam, they expected us to pay again for Marketing,” the student said.
SaharaReporters gathered that students who cannot pay the N500 fee are coerced or threatened. Sometimes, the teachers allegedly disrupt the exams for students who refuse to pay.
According to one of the students, when they refused to pay, the teachers threatened to make life difficult for them in the days left to conclude their examinations.
“And it’s not like the ‘expo’ (answers) that they’re giving us are correct,” the student said.
“We are forced to pay. Even the students who do not have money borrow. And not everybody has money. Forcing us to pay for the expo is crazy.”
Sometimes, the ‘expo’ even comes late. At one point, I was done with my work when they brought it. We are forced to pay N500 per subject. We have over 100 registered students,” another student disclosed.
“Any students that refuse to pay will be disturbed during the exam even if they choose to do the exam by themselves without their help.”
A source within the school confirmed the situation, noting that this is not a new development.
“That is how the teachers do it here. This year, we have at least 140 students, and most of these students were registered by the Lagos Government. The teachers are collecting money to extort them,” the source said.
All efforts by SaharaReporters to obtain a response from the Lagos State Government proved unsuccessful.
Repeated calls to Mr. Sesan Mutairu of the Ministry of Education’s Investigation and Monitoring Department, as well as to the Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotoso, went unanswered. Text messages sent to both officials also received no reply.
SaharaReporters in April reported how the school management actively attempted to cover up the abuse of at least 11 girls by a Further Mathematics teacher, Mr. Egberongbe Adegbenga Toheeb.
This was disclosed in audio recordings obtained by SaharaReporters, which showed the victims narrating their ordeal at the hands of the disgraced teacher.
This revelation eventually led to the state government’s arrest and arraignment of school principal Osunrinde Omotayo Abiodun.
SaharaReporters learned further that the state government had redeployed a new principal, Mr Oluwatoto Oluwafemi, to take over the school’s running.
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