Osun Can No Longer Bear Full Payment Of WAEC Fees For Students, Says Deputy Gov.

As the cash crunch continues to bite harder following dwindling federal allocation, the Osun State Government has announced that it would no longer be able to pay fully the West Africa Examination Council, WAEC, registration fees for students in public schools.

Osun was recently in the news over its inability to pay workers’ salaries and discharge its obligation to citizens of the state, therefore, the admission that it won’t be able to fully bear the burden of WAEC fees is coming as no surprise.

The Deputy Governor, Titi Laoye-Tomori, who stated this while receiving members of the State House of Assembly Committee on Education at her office in Osogbo on Wednesday, said the state government would pay half of the fees, while parents of students in the public schools would shoulder the burden of the remaining half.

According to Mrs. Laoye-Tomori, who also doubles as the Osun Commissioner for Education, the state government spends over N500 million as WAEC fees for students per annum, adding that due to the existing precarious financial situation, it could no longer bear the cost alone.

“The state government is yet to complete the payment of 2014 WAEC fees and this is causing delay in the release of the students’ results”, she said.