Ondo State government on Wednesday ordered the refund of monies paid by parents whose children have registered to write the 2021 West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The directive was contained in a circular issued by Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Lola Amuda, to principals and heads of public secondary schools in Akure.
Amuda spoke at a meeting with the state’s executive members of the All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools and other stakeholders in the education sector.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu approved N360 million for WASSCE enrolment for 25,736 students in public secondary schools in the state on March 18.
The approval was in line with the free education policy of the state government.
Amuda tasked the schools administrators to reciprocate government’s good gesture by putting in their best and ensuring that the students performed well in the examinations.
She described the principals as “the eyes and ears of government’’ and tasked them on proper implementation of government’s policies and programmes in schools across the state.
She enjoined them to build up the students academically as well as mould their characters and influence their views of the society positively so that they could grow into responsible adults.
The permanent secretary directed the principals to furnish the ministry with the names of all final year senior secondary students in their schools to establish their actual number.
In his response, ANCOPPS State President, Johnbull Mebawondu, expressed gratitude to the government for being considerate and promised that the principals would abide by government’s policy.
Mebawondu stressed that government’s gesture would relieve parents and guardians of financial burden associated with WASSCE.
