WAEC\/NECO fees: Benue orders refund of N106,000 charged by school<\/p>\n
\u2026.Warns against exploitation<\/p>\n
The Benue State Government, through the Education Quality Assurance and Examinations Board, BEQAE, has directed Jewel Model School, Makurdi, to immediately reverse the N106,000 being charged to parents for the registration of West African Examination Council, WAEC, and National Examinations Council, NECO, describing the levy as excessive and unjustifiable.<\/p>\n
The directive followed a series of petitions from aggrieved parents who accused the school of imposing arbitrary examination fees.<\/p>\n
Acting on the complaints, the Board summoned the school\u2019s proprietor, principal and members of the Parents-Teachers Association, PTA executive to a meeting in Makurdi where they reportedly failed to justify the amount being demanded.<\/p>\n
Speaking during the engagement, the Executive Secretary of BEQAEB, Dr. Terna Francis, clarified that the officially approved fee for WAEC registration was N28,000, while NECO was yet to announce its charges for the 2026 examinations.<\/p>\n
\u201cSchools are only permitted to collect officially approved examination fees, with a handling charge not exceeding N5,000 per examination,\u201d Francis stated.<\/p>\n
He further stressed that candidates were not mandated to register for both WAEC and NECO, noting that such decisions should be left to parents and students.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegistration for WAEC and NECO is optional, not compulsory. Any additional costs must be transparently discussed and mutually agreed upon by parents, not imposed without consultation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Francis also expressed concern over reports that parents at the school had been denied platforms to air their views, alleging that PTA meetings had not held for nearly two years and that parents were restricted from commenting on the school\u2019s WhatsApp communication platform.<\/p>\n
He equally condemned the practice of routing school and examination payments through the proprietor\u2019s personal bank account, describing it as a breach of accountability and transparency.<\/p>\n
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\n\u201cSuch practices undermine proper auditing and are unacceptable in a regulated educational ystem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Francis consequently, directed the Director of Enforcement and Compliance Operations, Rev. Fr. Dr. Terungwa Tor, to place the school under close monitoring to ensure full compliance with the Board\u2019s directives.<\/p>\n
Warning against the exploitation of parents, Francis noted that schools found imposing undue financial burdens on learners risk severe sanctions, including the withdrawal of their operating licenses.
\n\u201cThese exploitative practices only worsen the problem of out-of-school children, which the government is determined to address,\u201d he stated. (Vanguard)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WAEC\/NECO fees: Benue orders refund of N106,000 charged by school \u2026.Warns against exploitation The Benue State Government, through the Education Quality Assurance and Examinations Board, BEQAE, has directed Jewel Model School, Makurdi, to immediately reverse the N106,000 being charged to parents for the registration of West African Examination Council, WAEC, and National Examinations Council, NECO, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":149404,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[248,18,20],"tags":[160,2571,2570],"class_list":{"0":"post-149403","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education","8":"category-news","9":"category-the-nation","10":"tag-benue-state","11":"tag-education-quality-assurance-and-examinations-board","12":"tag-waec-neco-fees"},"yoast_head":"\n