The Cross River State Education Commissioner, Senator Stephen Odey, has disclosed that the state government invested N399.7m in the enrollment of 14,804 secondary school students to enable them to write the 2025 West African Examination Council (WAEC) examination.
He disclosed this while speaking yesterday in Calabar during an interactive session with LEADERSHIP in his office.
“By so doing, students who are already in school and probably have parents with no financial muscles to get them enrolled in WAEC not to be excluded from the examination,” Odey maintained.
The Commissioner stated that he would not want to dabble in that issue given that it had already been dealt with at the state executive council level.
The commissioner explained why the ministry flagged off the Annual Secondary School Census on Tuesday. The exercise was done to assist the ministry in gathering data that will form the basis for future policies and programmes that align with Gov. Bassey Otu’s vision for a progressive and inclusive education sector.
“It’s the reason why we have been working very assiduously to reposition the sector in the state,” he added.
Odey lauded Governor Otu for the initiative and stressed that to benefit from the free WAEC registration, the student must also pass the school mock examination.
He stated that approval had been given for the establishment of the University of Education and Entrepreneurship in Akamkpa, which had been signed into law on January 8, 2025, stressing that the state governor had released a take-off grant.
On storage of academic results, the commissioner stated that henceforth academic results are to be digitized so that it can be accessed globally, making verification and accessibility easier.
While giving insight into the significance of accurate data collection during the census, Odey described it as essential for shaping the future of education in the state and the nation at large.
Odey charged leaders of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), ministry directors, and other stakeholders to ensure the process is thorough, transparent, and error-free.
“The data collected must be accurate, as it will guide future planning and allocation of resources,” Odey maintained.
