By Ogenyi Ogenyi,Uyo
The Akwa Ibom State Government has announced the release of N778,998,500, being payment for 48,797 public school students taking part in the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Idongesit Etiebiet who made this disclosure in an interview with newsmen last weekend in Uyo, said the amount was initial payments for the candidates and is meant to cover NIN registration fee, biometric registration, funds for administrative cost, as well as 50% of the WASSCE fee.
Etiebet explained that the increase in sundry charges for the examination has raised the yearly payment fee by the State Government from N1bn to N1.5bn with the West African School Examination fee hitherto N18,000 now 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 N700,000,000 in due course.”The Commissioner said.
She commended Governor Umo Eno for remaining committed to the welfare of students despite the apparent economic realities in the country, expressing the belief that students would work hard and justify the huge investments committed by Government to their course.
“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 – N350,000 had also been given to students with disabilities, starting with tertiary institutions.” Etiebet said.
The Commissioner stated that over 10,000 students have so far benefited from the bursary payment since the commencement of the exercise.
