Governor Usman Ahmed Ododo of Kogi has approved the payment of the 2024/2025 West African Examination Council (WAEC) fees for 18,734 students in public secondary schools in the state.
The State Commissioner for Education, Wemi Jones who disclosed this in Lokoja on Tuesday, said the state government would pay N6000 million to cover the fees.
Jones said the payment is in line with the free examination fee for pupils in public schools law enacted by the State Government.
He said with the law in place, every internal and external examination for pupils in public primary schools became the responsibility of the state government.
He said for the 2024/2025 WAEC, the governor was approached in accordance with the existing law for his approval for the payment for 18734 Students, adding that the fees have been offset by the state government.
The commissioner recalled that in 2024, the State Government paid for 15033 students, adding that “With this increase, we can imagine that more parents are now moving their wards to public schools leading to an increase of 3,700 students”.
“This policy by the government is to make life easier for citizens, parents and guardians. This policy is also intended to address the syndrome of out of school children and ensure 100% completion of education at that level”.
He said the state government will pay the fees of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB) for students in public schools, adding that the first school leaving certificate and Basic Examination School Certificate for pupils would be paid also.
