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By Young E. Freeborn, Warri
As the new term opens for academic activities across the country, parents and guardians whose children or wards are students of secondary schools in Delta State, have complained over the high enrollment fees for both the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) being imposed on the students by school authorities and school examination officers.
Speaking to our correspondent at one of the state’s special schools, Girls Model Secondary School, Evwreni in Ughelli North Local Government Area, a parent who didn’t want his name in print said, “What these examination bodies and school authorities are doing to us is just to stop our children from attending schools.
“Many of us are average income earners. Like me here, I’m not a wealthy person as such. But because I want to give my children especially the female ones good education, that’s why I decided to bring my children here. I have two girls in this school and the two of them are in SSS 3, ready to write both the WAEC and the NECO exams. Now for each of these two exams, the school authorities asked them to pay N26,000.00 each. For a person like me that have two girls here, how can I afford the total enrollment fees?”
In the same way, a parent whose three children are in SSS 3 at Unenurhie Secondary School, Unenurhie and Uwheru Grammar School, Uwheru both in Ughelli North LGA of Delta State also complained of the high enrollment fees, wondering the reason behind the hike “in spite the free education policy the state ministry of Basic and Secondary Education is singing everywhere in the state.”
Hear him: “Since this (Ifeanyi) Okowa government in the state, we have been hearing of free education everywhere. But I begin to ask, is this free education only in radio jingles and pages of newspapers? The impacts are not being felt by parents. These WAEC and NECO enrollment fees are practical examples and evidences of what I’m saying.
“For me, I’m a poor farmer. I struggle before I get money. At the moment, my three children are in SSS 3. Two are here while the other one is in Unenurhie Secondary School. I just came to inquire about the enrollment fees for the two exams. I was told, enrollment fees are N30,000.00 for each of the two exams. Meaning, one student is N60,000.00 and the three of them is N180,000.00.
“This is just for the enrollment alone. During the exams, they would be made to pay, even more than this to seek for help, which teachers here can’t deny. The government is doing nothing but to deny our children education and also leadership of this state in the nearest future. Today, their children are schooling abroad, preparing them for leadership of the state and the country at the expense of our children here. We are tired to be citizens of Nigeria.”
The parents interviewed however called on the federal Ministry of Education, the Delta State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education and the examination bodies to immediately reduce the enrollment fees if only they want poor Nigerian children to access good education “like their own children in both the state and the country.”
I feel the pains of the parents. It is terrible. Government should do something about it.
I feel the pains of the parents. It is terrible. Government should do something about it by subsidy the enrollment.