Kogi State House of Assembly has ordered that the N497.3 million West African Examinations Council (WAEC) examination fees released by Governor Yahaya Bello to the Ministry of Education be paid into the coffers of the examination body by 30 December 2023.
The directive was given by the speaker, Rt. Hon. Aliyu Umar Yusuf, to the state commissioner for education, science and technology, Mr Wemi Jones, when he appeared during plenary sitting.
This was after he had cleared the air of the confusion caused by some school principals who were collecting WAEC fees and other levies despite the release of the funds by the state government.
Mr Wemi Jones assured the House that Governor Bello had released the money for payment of WAEC fees for 15,033 students in the 21 local government areas of the state.
He said the money was intact in the ministry’s account and would not be released to any principal or school, but would rather be released to WAEC before 28 January 2024.
The commissioner warned principals and examination officers to desist from any act of criminality by asking students to make payments for WAEC, PTA, and any other levy.
He said education is free in Kogi State, pointing out that principals, school heads, and examination officers are not to collect money from any student for WAEC or PTA levy.
Stressing that private schools are not included, he said WAEC fees in the state is N33,100 only for the year 2024 and warned private schools not to charge higher.
