The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno has approved the release of N778,998,500 payment for the 2023/2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), LEADERSHIP gathered on Saturday.
Commissioner for Education, Mrs Idongesit Etiebiet, who disclosed this in an interview in her office in Uyo, the state capital, explained that the amount was the initial payments for 48,797 candidates participating in the sub – regional examination this year.
The breakdown of the amount, she explained, would cover payment for the National Identity Number (NIN) registration fee, biometric registration, funds for administrative cost, as well as 50 per cent of the WASSCE fee.
Etiebiet noted that the increase in sundry charges for the examination has raised the yearly payment fee by the State Government from N1 billion to N1.5 billion.
The Commissioner further noted that the West African School Examination fee, which hitherto stood at N18,000 naira per candidate, has been increased to N27,000.
“The release of the initial payment by the State Government is to enable the students to participate in the examination, and the Government is expected to pay a balance of over N700 million in due course,” the Commissioner said.
She commended the governor for his administration’s commitment to the welfare of students despite the prevailing socio-economic realities in the country, and charged the students to work hard and justify the huge investments committed by government into their cause.
“You could recall that very recently the Government had released additional N100 million to cater for bursary of students of Akwa Ibom State origin at various tertiary institutions across the country, while grants ranging from N250,000 to N350,000 had also been given to students with disabilities, starting with tertiary institutions,” she stressed.
The Education Commissioner recalled that that “since the commencement of the bursary payment exercise, over 10,000 recipients have benefited from this exercise so far.”
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