Enugu: More reactions have continue to trail the Federal Government’s suspension of the proposed increase in registration fees for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the National Examinations Council (NECO).
Many parents, school administrators in Enugu State expressed satisfaction with the decision.
Some of the stakeholders who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Monday described the suspension as a timely intervention that would ease the financial burden on families with the current economic realities in the country.
NAN reports that the Federal Ministry of Education announced the suspension on Monday after widespread criticism from parents, education stakeholders and the general public over the proposed increase from N27,000 to N50,000.
A school administrator and education analyst, Mr Benneth Edeh, described the suspension as a welcome development, saying the proposed increase would have placed additional financial pressure on parents already struggling with the rising cost of living.
“Some of us in the education sector were alarmed by the proposed new fee. We felt that it was unnecessary, unwarranted and would have been a heavy burden on already burdened parents,” he said.
Edeh argued that increasing the examination fee from about N28,000 to N50,000 was excessive and justified the public outcry that greeted the proposal.
He urged the Federal Government not only to maintain the current fee but also to consider reducing it further to between N10,000 and N15,000 to ease the financial burden on parents.
According to him, many parents already struggle to pay school fees and other educational expenses, particularly in private schools where annual education costs could range between N200,000 and N300,000.
He said reducing examination fees would make quality education more accessible and encourage more children to complete their secondary education.
The Founder, Oasis of Knowledge Academy, Mr Darlington Nweze, said that government had a responsibility to support families by easing the financial pressure associated with public education rather than shifting the full cost of examinations to parents.
According to him, the examination bodies are primarily responsible for conducting tests and should not expect parents to shoulder the entire financial burden.
Also speaking, the proprietor of Ultimate Royal School, Enugu, Mr JohnPaul Ochi, also applauded the Federal Government for listening to public concerns.
Ochi said the proposed increase would have denied many children from poor homes the opportunity to sit for the examinations.
“It is a good thing. They almost drove us crazy because if they had left the fee at the proposed amount, it would have affected poor families,” he said.
He noted that the existing examination fees, estimated at between ₦29,000 and ₦35,000, were already difficult for many families to pay.
“We were wondering why they wanted to raise it to ₦50,000. That would mean they wanted to destroy education and prevented poor people from going to school. So we are happy they cancelled it,” said.
A parent, Mrs Amaka Okoro, described the suspension as timely, considering the prevailing economic challenges facing many Nigerian families.
“The economy is already too hard, and many parents and guardians cannot meet such an amount.
“Imagine parents with two or three children writing the examinations and without any increase in salaries.
“The financial burden would have been enormous. I say kudos to the Federal Government. Suspending the proposed increase is the right decision,” she said.
