Delta State Government is not owing the West African Examinations a Council (WAEC) in respect of the enrollment for the 2014/2015 May/June West Africa Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).

The state Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, who stated this on Wednesday noted that Delta State Government paid a total of N269,440,650 (two hundred and sixty-nine million, four hundred and forty thousand, six hundred and fifty naira).

Ebie, who is a legal practitioner, noted that the above-mentioned amount was for the WASSCE enrollment fees in respect of a total of 23,397 students of Delta State origin who sat for the said examinations.
Apparently reacting to the rumour making the round in certain quarters that Delta was one of the 13 states of the federation whose secondary school candidates in the examinations were being penalised by WAEC for failure of their respective state governments to offset the examinations fees, the education commissioner said there was no truth in the claim.
Following the release of the results of the examinations recently, the WAEC had reportedly announced that it would withhold the results of students whose states had promised but failed to pay their enrollment fees.


WAEC reportedly said it would only consider releasing the results for candidates of about a dozen states, when their respective state governments showed “sufficient commitment” to pay the various amounts owed the examinations body.


However, in a statement from the Ministry, Ebie said that the state government has met all its obligations in January 2015 to WAEC with the payment of N269, 440, 650 million (Two hundred and Sixty Nine Million, Four Hundred and Forty Thousand, Six Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) for 2014/2015 WASSCE fees for 23,397 students that sat for the 2014/2015 May/June examinations.


He stressed that it had become “necessary to clear the air over rumours making the rounds as to which state are indebted or not.


Nevertheless, the commissioner urged WAEC to release the names of its debtors without further delay in order to set the records straight.


Ebie explained that the Okowa administration would not jeopardise the future of school children in the state, saying the government is committed to improving and sustaining quality education that is centred on infrastructure development, capacity building, welfare of teachers and students, provision of instructional materials and teaching aids.”


He therefore advised the students not to entertain any fears concerning the release of their WAEC results, noting that “affected students in both public and private schools in the state should feel free to check their results online without hindrance.”


Meanwhile, the education commissioner admonished students in the state against indulging in any forms of examination malpractice, stressing that the “government has zero tolerance for examination malpractice and anyone caught will be sanctioned appropriately.”

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