By Peter Duru, Makurdi
The Campaign for Equal Rights and Opportunities for All Nigerians (CERON) has condemned the Federal Government’s approval of an increase in the registration fees for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO), describing the decision as insensitive to the prevailing economic hardship.
The group said millions of Nigerian families were already struggling with rising living costs and worsening poverty, warning that the increase in examination fees would place additional financial pressure on parents and could worsen the country’s out-of-school children crisis.
The Federal Ministry of Education had, in a memo signed by the Director of Senior Secondary Education, Adeniji Ibrahim, on behalf of the Minister, directed the Registrar of NECO to implement a new examination registration fee of N50,000, noting that the same fee had been approved for WAEC.
Reacting in a statement, CERON Secretary, Francis Odiir, described the decision as unacceptable and disconnected from the realities facing ordinary Nigerians.
