The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Monday threatened to withhold results of candidates in 19 states who wrote the May/June 2015 West African Senior Certificate Examination (WASSCE) over non payment of exams fees by their state governments.
The 19 states according to the WAEC Head of National Office (HNO), Mr. Charles Eguridu, owe the council over N4billion for examination fees of their candidates for the May/June 2015 WASSCE and also few in 2014.
Eguridu who briefed newsmen on the debt issue along side some management staff at WAEC national office, Yaba, Lagos, gave the affected 19 state governments two weeks to settle their debt and warned that the council would not release the results of their candidates if they failed to meet up the deadline.
His words: ‘’As you are aware, the council has successfully conducted the May/June 2015 WASSCE and is working assiduously to ensure that the results are released on schedule.
‘’Again, as you aware, many state of the Federation, as part of their education policy, pay the registration fees of candidates for the WASSCE, particularly in their public schools. This is quite commendable as it has afforded many indigent students the opportunity to sit our examinations and relieved many poor parents of this financial burden.
However, this obviously good gesture has come at a price to the council. As I speak to you now, we are cash-strapped as a result of the delay in off-setting the registration fees owed the council by some states. As a result, we are finding it difficult in meeting our financial obligation, particularly to our supervisors, examiners and service providers.
‘’A total number of 19 states in the country are owing the council in respect of entry fees for state government sponsored candidates for the May/June 2015 WASSCE. Some states also still owe the council registration fees for the May/June 2014 WASSCE.
‘’We have written to the affected states governments without any response. The poor response of debtor states is threatening the smooth operations of the council. [i]full details here[/i]http://www.tominigeria.com/2015/07/waec-threatens-to-withhold-results-of.html