Enugu: Parents, school proprietors and education stakeholders in Enugu State have welcomed 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), saying the move brings relief to struggling families.
The stakeholders, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday, said the suspension would ease the financial burden on households grappling with the country’s harsh economic realities.
NAN reports that the Federal Ministry of Education on Monday suspended the proposed increase after widespread criticism from parents, education stakeholders and members of the public over plans to raise the examination registration fee from ₦27,000 to ₦50,000.
An education analyst and school administrator, Mr Benneth Edeh, described the government’s decision as a welcome development, noting that the proposed increase would have further strained parents already battling rising living costs.
“Many of us in the education sector were alarmed by the proposed increase. We considered it unnecessary, unjustified and an additional burden on parents who are already under immense financial pressure,” he said.
Edeh argued that increasing the examination fee from about ₦28,000 to ₦50,000 was excessive and justified the public outcry that greeted the proposal.
He urged the Federal Government not only to retain the current fee but also to consider reducing it to between ₦10,000 and ₦15,000 to make education more affordable.
According to him, many parents already struggle to pay school fees and other education-related expenses, especially in private schools where annual tuition ranges between ₦200,000 and ₦300,000.
He said lower examination fees would improve access to quality education and encourage more students to complete their secondary education.
Also speaking, the Founder of Oasis of Knowledge Academy, Mr Darlington Nweze, said the government had a responsibility to ease the financial burden of education rather than transfer the full cost of public examinations to parents.
He argued that examination bodies should not expect families alone to bear the increasing costs of administering national examinations.
Similarly, the proprietor of Ultimate Royal School, Enugu, Mr JohnPaul Ochi, commended the Federal Government for listening to public concerns.
He said the proposed increase would have denied many children from low-income families the opportunity to sit for the examinations.
“It is a good decision. If the proposed fee had remained, many poor families would have been unable to afford it,” he said.
Ochi noted that the existing registration fees, which range between ₦29,000 and ₦35,000, are already beyond the reach of many households.
“We wondered why it had to be increased to ₦50,000. That would have discouraged many students from pursuing their education. We are happy the government reversed the decision,” he added.
A parent, Mrs Amaka Okoro, also described the suspension as timely, given the prevailing economic hardship.
“The economy is already difficult, and many parents simply cannot afford such an increase.
“Imagine a family with two or three children preparing for these examinations without any corresponding increase in income. The financial burden would have been overwhelming.
“I commend the Federal Government for making the right decision by suspending the proposed increase,” she said.
