July 28, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government has given approval to the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to increase examination fees from N13,000 to N18,000 for West African Secondary School Certificate (WASSC internal).
Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who confirmed the development at a meeting with officials of WAEC in Abuja, on Thursday, said the review was in response to the rising cost of operations and other logistics required for the smooth conduct of the examination.
He appreciated WAEC for its commitment over the past 70 years to uphold the sanctity and credibility of the system, and reassured them of the support of the Federal Government to their activities, and also fulfill its financial obligations to the Council.
Chairman of WAEC, Prof. Ato Essuman, in his remarks, explained that the courtesy visit was to present himself and familiarise with the Minister and other officials of the Ministry since he will pilot the affairs of the Council for three years, 2021-2024.
He said: “I would have paid you a visit long before now, but the inclement health atmosphere occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic prevented me from doing so.”
Essuman appreciated the Minister’s personal efforts and contribution towards the successful conduct of WASSCE in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
“Not too long ago, you approved a marginal upward review of the fee for WASSCE to enable the national office to keep afloat and serve the Nigerian child optimally in the face of rising costs of goods and services across the sub-region. We can’t thank you enough. But as a responsible and responsive organisation, we would continue to seek ways to improve on our service delivery to stakeholders”, he said.
Essuman informed the Minister that the Nigeria national office of WAEC had embarked on the establishment of a digital printing press for the printing of examination security materials, and that will be the first to be owned by the Council in Nigeria.
“However, the project, which is nearing completion has been stalled because the office is unable to find funds for the acquisition of a particular machine that is vital to the operations of the system”, he said.
Essuman solicited the support of Nigerian government to enable them secure the required financial assistance for the procurement of the machine.
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