Kogi Assembly Directs Commissioner to Swiftly Remit N497.3m WAEC Fees to Examination Body
The directive comes in response to reported confusion caused by certain school principals who continued to collect WAEC fees and other levies despite the release of funds by Governor Yahaya Bello to the Ministry of Education. Mr. Wemi Jones clarified the situation, assuring the House that the Governor had indeed released the funds for the payment of WAEC fees for 15,033 students across the state's 21 local government areas
AKACHI NOEL 
In a decisive move, the Kogi State House of Assembly has issued a directive to the Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Mr. Wemi Jones, ordering the expeditious remittance of the allocated N497.3 million West African Examinations Council (WAEC) examination fees to the examination body's coffers by December 30, 2023. The directive was communicated by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Aliyu Umar Yusuf, during a plenary sitting.
The directive comes in response to reported confusion caused by certain school principals who continued to collect WAEC fees and other levies despite the release of funds by Governor Yahaya Bello to the Ministry of Education. Mr. Wemi Jones clarified the situation, assuring the House that the Governor had indeed released the funds for the payment of WAEC fees for 15,033 students across the state's 21 local government areas.
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During the plenary sitting, Mr. Jones affirmed that the allocated funds, currently intact in the ministry's account, would not be disbursed to any principal or school directly. Instead, the funds are slated to be remitted to WAEC before January 28, 2024. The commissioner warned against any illicit practices, emphasizing that education is free in Kogi State. Principals, school heads, and examination officers are explicitly prohibited from collecting money from students for WAEC or Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) levy.
Mr. Wemi Jones emphasized that the directive excludes private schools, and he specified the WAEC fee for the year 2024 as N33,100. Private schools were sternly warned against charging higher fees.
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The Assembly's directive underscores its commitment to ensuring transparent and accountable use of allocated funds in the education sector. The clarification provided by Mr. Jones serves to address concerns regarding the collection of fees by some school principals and reaffirms the state's commitment to providing free education.
