During its 37th meeting on Tuesday, the Gombe State Executive Council approved N549.4 million to cover the exam fees of 19,840 students in 151 senior secondary schools in the state.
Our reporter mentioned that at least 18,288 students will take the West Africa Examinations Council, 1,243 students will sit for the National Business and Technical Examination Board, and 309 will take the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies exam.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, the state's Commissioner for Education, Dr. Aishatu Maigari, stated, "The Gombe State Executive Council has given the go-ahead for the payment of Senior Secondary Certificate Examination fees for 19,840 students.
"In 151 senior secondary schools, these students will have their WAEC fees covered for 18,288 taking the exam. 1,243 are taking NABTEB, and 309 are taking NBAIS."
As for how the beneficiaries were selected, she pointed out that the current administration initiated a mock process to choose the top performers.
"They participated in the mock examination. Since the start of this administration in 2019, we have been undertaking the examination. In 2019, when we took over, only 22 percent achieved five credits. In 2023, 67.5 percent of our students obtained five credits, including Mathematics and English.
"The percentage of students we are providing support for is 72.59 percent. Over 23,000 students participated in the mock examination. We made it 60 percent," Maigari added.
The commissioner also mentioned that "the students include both our indigenous students and exam students. This comes at a time when examination bodies have raised their fees. The governor approved N549,492,175 million."
Meanwhile, the Kebbi State Commissioner for Higher Education, Isah Abdullahi-Tunga, has praised the Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, for the approval of over N967 million for the payment of registration fees for indigenous students across Nigeria. approving over N967 million for the payment of indigenous students’ registration fees across Nigeria.
