Kano State government has approved the sum of N2.9 billion to sponsor 119,903 students to undertake the 2024 National Examinations Council (NECO) and National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) examinations.
The state commissioner for Education, Dr Umar Doguwa made this known while briefing journalists in Kano.
He explained that any student who secured four credits in the last qualifying examinations (mock) in the state stands to benefit and be registered for the exams. He said government is paying N24,250 and N21,000 per student for NECO and NBAIS registration fees respectively.
“It was proposed to him (the governor) to pay for only those with eight credits but he rejected the proposal and opted to pay for any students with four credits in any course.
“This number amounts to paying for 109,891 students, representing 83 percent of those that sat for Kano Education Resource Department (KERD) examination (mock) and over 10,012 students representing 97.24 percent that sat for Arabic and Islamic Education Department (AIED) exams.
“With this, we bear in mind that any student with four credits can get admission anywhere in the world. So, we can’t waste them. Sometimes again, students can fail in the qualifying examinations but make it up during the NECO exams,” he stated.
He called on parents not to stop their children from going to school because they failed the qualifying exams, pointing out that the present administration was committed to improving the education sector, hence the declaration of the state of emergency on education.
He warned principals and teachers not to substitute any students’ names for others, noting that anyone found wanting will be prosecuted.
