Borno Offsets WAEC Fees of Over N329m for Public Students

Wednesday, the Borno State government paid over N329.8 million in fees for the 2022 West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).

Engr. Lawan Abba Wakilbe, State Commissioner of Education, said this while presenting the payment cheque to Mr. Zakari Yau, zonal deputy registrar, Maiduguri, WAEC, at the Ministry’s office in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.

Wakilbe stated that in addition to this year’s payment, the State government was also making a payment of N34,349,650 for the year 2018, and that the government had now completed all of its financial commitments to WAEC.

“This year, the government is paying three hundred and twenty-nine million, eight hundred and five thousand, eight hundred naira (N 329,805,800),” the Commissioner said, “out of which two hundred and ninety-five million, four hundred and fifty-six thousand, one hundred and fifty naira (N295,456,150) is for the settlement of State and Local Governments share, which is a subsidy of 75% of the Examination fees for 21,827 students studying  in public schools across Borno State, alongside an outstanding amount of thirty-four million, three hundred and forty-nine thousand, six hundred and fifty naira (N34,349,650) for the year 2018.

“The government has now completely satisfied all of its financial obligations to WAEC.” Candidates who took the examinations in public schools can begin checking their results online on Friday, August 12, 2022.

“In accordance with the Borno State Government’s resettlement efforts, I would like to request that WAEC consider extending the 2023 WASSCE to eight (8) Local Government Areas, namely Damboa, Gwoza, Ngala, Dikwa, Mafa, Monguno, Gubio, and Mobbar.” This is required since students (Boys/Girls) from these areas encounter significant problems in travelling to Maiduguri and staying in Boarding Schools for at least three (3) months.

“As a result of this, there is overcrowding in the host schools, as well as other concerns.” We will collaborate to establish procedures for conducting the examinations in the eight (8) Local Government Areas.”

He praised stakeholders in the education sector in Chibok and Kaga for their perseverance, logistics, and security support, without which the 2022 examinations could not be held in their respective local government areas.

He also praised the stakeholders from Ngala for the attention they paid to their students, who happened to be the best-behaved students in the 2022 examinations within Maiduguri metropolis.

He commended all school principals who adhered to the examination quota and urged those who registered external candidates solely for profit to stop immediately, adding that the government will pay a total of N671,036,225 this year for the three examinations; WASSCE, SSCE, and NABTEB, a significant increase of 61.5 percent over the previous year’s total examination bill of N412,394,510.

Zakari Yau, the zone deputy Registrar, WAEC, Maiduguri, admitted receiving the money from the Borno State government in his response and assured that students’ results would be released within 48 hours.