Benue State government is set to commence the payment of the registration fees for Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) for only students in government schools.
The commissioner for education and knowledge management, Rev. Frederick Ikyaan, disclosed this yesterday in a meeting with principals of post-primary schools, area education officers and other stakeholders in the education sector in Makurdi, the state capital.
Ikyaan said Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration would pay the registration fees for final year students of only government secondary schools in the state, but cautioned the principals against engaging in unethical practices such as illegal admission of students to take undue advantage of the good gesture.
He instructed all the principals of post primary schools in the state not to collect monies from students for such registration, unless approvals that would come from the ministry.
The commissioner called on parents of students to encourage their children to study hard to complement the efforts of the state government, so as not to see it as a wasted opportunity.
On his part, the director-general, Benue State Education Quality Assurance Agency (BEQA), Dr Terna Francis, thanked the commissioner for bringing innovations in the education sector that are already yielding positive results, saying that, the agency under him is aimed at improving the quality of teaching and learning in the state, and warned against examination malpractice and other vices in the sector.
On his part, the executive secretary, Benue State Teaching Service Board (TSB), Mr Tsea Ahule, also thanked the commissioner for the meeting with heads of the institutions, as well as administrators in the education sector, and called on the principals to always seek approvals from the board before taking any action in their respective schools.
