Stakeholders in the education sector have reacted to non-release of West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) result in 13 states over debt.
Some Nigerians, who spoke to NAN on Tuesday, August 11, in Abuja, described the failure of some states to pay their dues as a national embarrassment.
Recall that WAEC had announced the results on August 10, saying that of 13 states were being withheld due to their inability to pay the WASSCE fees as agreed with the council.
According to Jerry Okere, an educationist said it showed signs of irresponsibility.
“The governors and states involved are embarrassing the nation; for a governor to sign a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) with WAEC only to renege on it is very embarrassing.
“They should not have made such pronouncements if they did not mean to honour it; you do not play politics with the education of your subjects,” he said.
He added that WAEC should be demanding for an upfront payment in future and states should make a commitment of up to 80 to 90 per cent of their total fees before WAEC obliges them.
Okere refused to accept the impression that this year’s result was better than that of last year, saying: “39 per cent out 100 per cent is not a fair performance; it could be an improvement on the figure but certainly not a fair one. Why is it that we cannot have a 60 to 70 per cent pass rate?
“It shows that the standard is still on the decline in terms of students’ performance and quality and it calls for an urgent attention. It calls for an improvement on the teaching standards and the level of imparting knowledge on the students and enhancement of education infrastructure.”
In his reaction, Ufere Mba, a legal practitioner said WAEC and parents of those affected should pursue legal options. According to him, the students should not be made to suffer for what was not their fault.
“Another aspect of the breach from the state governments was their not abiding with the agreement with WAEC. You do not score cheap political points and then mortgage the education of thousands of young ones. I think the whole thing is embarrassing,” he said.
Also speaking on the matter, Tony Idojie, a social commentator, said that most of the states might not have the money to pay WAEC as they might also be among states battling with arrears of salaries.
He faulted the governors for making bogus promises in order to win elections instead of allowing parents to register their wards for the exam.
Idojie, however, expressed optimism that the results would soon be released if the affected state governments could seek the help of banks as suggested by WAEC.
Two weeks to the release of the result, Charles Eguridu, the Head of WAEC National Office had announced that no fewer than 19 states in the country owe about N4bn examination registration fees. He explained that hundreds of candidates who sat for the May/June examination may not have their results released.
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