The Kogi State House of Assembly has issued a firm ultimatum, demanding that the state Ministry of Education expeditiously disburse the sum of N497.3 million designated for the West African Examination Council, WAEC, fees by December 30th.
With perplexity, the house questioned the delay in making the payment to WAEC, even after Governor Yahaya Bello had disbursed the funds.
The Speaker of the House, Umar Yusuf, confronted the state Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Wemi Jones, during the plenary sitting on Thursday, delivering the stringent deadline.
The ultimatum was imposed subsequent to the commissioner’s clarification of the fee-related matters.
Jones explained that the delay stemmed from a situation where certain school principals continued to collect WAEC fees and other levies, in disregard of the funds released by the state government.
Despite Governor Bello’s disbursement of N497.3 million in November for the payment of fees for 15,033 students across the 21 local government areas of the state, the disbursement to WAEC is still pending.
Appearing before the house, Jones acknowledged the release of the funds, affirming that the payment process was underway.
“I would like to inform this honourable house that the fund released by our benevolent governor is intact in the ministry’s account and will soon be remitted to WAEC before the closing date of January 28th, 2024, and not to any principal or school,” he clarified.
The commissioner cautioned principals and examination officers against soliciting payments from students for WAEC, PTA, or any other levies, emphasizing the state’s commitment to providing free education.
He unequivocally stated that no school officials have the authority to demand any payment from students for WAEC or PTA levies in Kogi State, stressing that education is free under Governor Bello’s administration. However, he clarified that private schools will undergo a verification exercise to determine the true number of students eligible for the disbursement.
Jones also specified that the WAEC fee for the state stands at N33,100 for the year 2024 and cautioned private schools against imposing additional charges to avoid sanctions from the ministry.
NAN
