‘Kogi Loses N239m WEAC Fees to Fraudulent Govt Officials’

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The chairperson of the Committee on Reconciliation of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) fees, set up by the Kogi State Government, Hajia Ladi Ibrahim, has said some officials in the Ministry of Education defrauded the government of huge funds meant for the payment of the fees for the final year pupils of public secondary schools.

Hajia Ibrahim spoke in Lokoja, the state capital, when she presented the committee’s report to Governor Idris Wada.

The chairperson said the committee discovered that only N278.7 million was required for the payment of the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) fees, instead of the N515 million quoted by the ministry’s officials.

The Nation reported in January the government’s decision suspending the payment of WASSCE fees.

But some ministry officials, who spoke in confidence, denied culpability in the alleged fraud.

They said remitting such fees, aside the money for logistics, was by direct payment to WAEC.

The committee’s report said a number of factors caused the rise in the WASSCE fees in the last three years. These include official annual increment in fees.

Hajia Ibrahim noted that the fee rose from N8,050 per pupil in the 2012/2013 session to N11,450 in the current (2014/2015) session, representing about 30 per cent rise.

The chairperson fingered the ministry officials for allegedly doctoring the rules governing the unified eligibility examination, adding that the violation of the rules caused the inclusion of ineligible candidates in examination bills the government paid.

She added that there was poor regulation of the establishment of private schools and their inclusion in the examination bill to the government.

The report also fingered the overbearing influence of those it described as unscrupulous officials of the Ministry of Education for imposing pupils on principals for the WASSCE, which it said accounted for the sharp practices.

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0 thoughts on “‘Kogi Loses N239m WEAC Fees to Fraudulent Govt Officials’

  1. Tahir k.

    Pls,sheath ur sword and don’t close down our economy. It will do more harm than good. You have make reasonable demands,wait for response.

    Reply

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