The Campaign for Equal Rights and Opportunities for All Nigerians (CERON) has urged the Federal Government of Nigeria reverse the policy aimed at increasing the registration fee for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO)   to N50,000.

CERON warned that the policy will place additional financial pressure on Nigerian families already grappling with economic hardship.

According to the group, the increase could further restrict access to education for many students and worsen the country’s growing out-of-school children crisis.

The new fee follows a directive issued by the Federal Ministry of Education in a memo signed by the Director of Senior Secondary Education, Adeniji Ibrahim, on behalf of the Minister. The memo instructed the Registrar of NECO to implement the approved N50,000 examination registration fee and stated that the same amount had also been approved for WAEC.

Responding to the development, CERON Secretary, Francis Odiir, described the decision as being out of touch with the challenges confronting ordinary Nigerians.

“The approval of the increase in examination fees is a clear indication that those in charge of this country do not understand the magnitude of the pain and suffering Nigerians are going through,” Odiir said.

He stressed that many households are already finding it difficult to meet essential needs, making the timing of the increase particularly troubling.

“Parents are already battling to provide food for their families, not to mention quality education. At a time like this, increasing examination fees is simply not right. Rather than easing the burden on citizens, the government is adding to their hardship,” he added.

Odiir called on the federal government to immediately reverse the decision, arguing that parents and education stakeholders have overwhelmingly rejected the proposed increase.

He cautioned that the higher registration cost could prevent many students from sitting for their examinations because their families may be unable to afford the fee. According to him, such a development would further worsen Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis by making secondary school examinations inaccessible to a significant number of candidates.

The CERON secretary also urged policymakers to consider the country’s prevailing economic realities when introducing public policies, insisting that measures capable of increasing the financial burden on citizens should be avoided.

Source: Leadership