The West African Examination Council, WAEC, has agreed to release the witheld results of secondary school students in Zamfara State following Governor Dauda Lawal’s intervention. The release comes after a meeting between the governor and top WAEC management in Abuja.

In a statement by the governor’s senior special assistant on media and publicity, Suleiman Idris, it was revealed that the agreement was reached on Monday. The results were initially withheld due to the non-payment of N1.4 billion examination fees owed by previous administrations in the state.

The current administration has agreed on repayment plans with WAEC, and all withheld results are expected to be released before the end of February 2024. Additionally, students will be able to register for the 2024 senior school certificate examination.

In efforts to address the state of emergency in the education sector, Governor Dauda Lawal hosted the leadership of WAEC in Abuja, accompanied by the honorable commissioner of education, science, and technology, Mallam Wadatau Madawaki. They discussed the outstanding debt owed by the state for examinations conducted under previous administrations.

The nonpayment of WAEC fees for many years led to the non-release of the examination results for the affected students, hindering their participation in the mandatory National Youth Service due to non-collection of their results. However, after the meeting, WAEC agreed to release the previous results and allow Zamfara students to participate in the 2024 WAEC examinations, with both parties agreeing on a payment plan for the backlog debt.

The WAEC delegation was led by the chairman of the Administrative and Finance Committee of WAEC Nigeria, Binta Abdulkadir, and the head of the National Office of WAEC Nigeria, Dr. Amos J. Dangut. Other senior officials of WAEC Nigeria were also present at the meeting.

This intervention marks a critical step towards ensuring that Zamfara students can proceed with their education and future prospects unhindered.