Despite the financial challenges that parents and guardians experience in meeting their children’s educational demands, the National Examinations Council (NECO) announced intentions to raise examination registration fees over the weekend.

The planned increase in payable fees follows a visit to NECO headquarters in Minna, Niger state capital, by the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Services last year as part of its oversight function, and a warning against increasing payable fees above the government-approved N9,850 for registration.

However, in response to question during the announcement of the 2020/2021 Senior Secondary School (SSCE) internal, NECO’s Registrar/Chief Execute, Professor Dantani Wushishi, said there is the possibility of increasing due fees to suit global economic realities.

Professor Wushishi stated that the rise in all payable fees is unavoidable in order to meet global financial realities, adding that the increase is in accordance with foreign exchange rates and associated patterns that are not unique to NECO.

Dantani Wushishi bemoaned the “internal and external issues” that NECO has had since he took over as Registrar/Chief Executive of the examination organization, which he says is exacerbated by the debt burden borne mostly by some northern states.

Many states have refused to pay, he said, adding that it is sad that the afflicted governments, especially northern ones, reneged on the gentleman arrangement established to allow their children to sit for the exams after which the cash would be paid.

“With the way things are today in the country and the current exchange rates, we are going to increase registration cost for all our examinations,” said the Registrar, who did not specify which states or the exact amount involved before the next registration.

According to him, many states owe not less than N2.8 billion, while six of them, including Zamfara, Adamawa, Kano, Gombe, Borno, and Niger, owing NECO not less than N1.8 billion for pupils enrolled in 2019.

“These state governments will offer to pay examination fees for candidates from their states but when it comes to the actual payment, they don’t do it, and that has strapped NECO. Most of these states owing are yet to remit, even as we decided not to withhold their results in the spirit of mutual respect, togetherness and understanding”.

He said, “If we do not increase payable fees we cannot to conduct examinations. It is with this money that NECO pays members of staff to carry out the examination duties, in addition to buying stationeries and other materials needed for the smooth conduct of the SSCE”.

Recalled that NECO demanded registration fee for the 2021 Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE), between N11, 350 and N13, 350, against financial difficulties being expressed by parents.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the management of Nigerian tertiary institutions are set to give waivers for specific types of candidates who meet admission requirements in order to attract more overseas candidates and broaden inclusiveness.

To that end, JAMB and institutions have announced that all applicants in foreign nations, Correctional Centers, and the Blind and Deaf Candidates will be excused from pre-admission institution screening tests.

In its weekly bulletin, JAMB declared that the lists of the respective candidates in these categories would be made accessible to the various Tertiary Institutions for guidance and necessary action for each year preceding the admission exercise.

“This extraordinary waiver is to be viewed as affirmative and inclusive measure for the accommodation of the impacted candidates,” the Board said.

“The Board and the Tertiary Institutions would ensure that candidates from these categories, who meet minimum requirements are admitted and their progress monitored in the various institutions for confirmation of the effectiveness of the policy as directed by the 2021 Policy Meeting.

To guide against prospective candidates taking undue advantage of the waiver, JAMB said that measures would be put in place to forestall unjustifiable benefits from the exemption policy.

“For instance, only candidates who are either foreigners or Nigerians that have been confirmed to be residents in foreign countries and are products of foreign school systems can enjoy this privilege in the interest of internationalization of the nation’s Tertiary Institutions.

“A Nigerian with less than six (6) month-stay in a foreign country is disallowed from taking the UTME in any foreign country. “This effort is to enhance the intake of international students into our tertiary institutions to improve their global rating,” JAMB stated.

Besides, the Board explained that it is at the moment, working on some policy directions to make our universities attractive to foreign students.

Recalled that The Times Higher Education (THE), a renowned global body that creates university rankings to assess university performance on the global stage, had over the years rated the nation’s universities zero, except UNN on the enrolment of international students.

The Association of Bursars of Nigerian Universities (ABNU) has hinted that several of its members have been to Ghana to evaluate the university revenue generation system.

This , according to the association was done to improve support for Nigerian academic institutions in the face of decreasing statutory allocation.

This was revealed by the Association’s National Chairman, Dr. Victor Imagbe, on Monday in Abuja at the Association’s ongoing Annual Conference and Award.

Imagbe, who is also the Bursar at the University of Benin, stated that the Association had initiated active orientation for its members on how to get intervention money through TETFUND, in addition to searching for ways to enhance school revenue creation.

He noted that, as administrators of the university system, bursars have used their skills to maintain industrial harmony and a calm environment by routinely meeting with all unions.

According to him, the award granted by his Association to both the Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, and the Executive Secretary of TETFUND, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, was meant to both recognize and motivate others.

He said, ” We have sent delegation to Ghana to understudy the revenue generation in their Universities system. We need to collaborate to ensure that we have a world class Universities. We have also been collaborating with universities outside the country.  

” The conference will give all the bursars to understand how to access funds available at TETFUND and the reports they are supposed to be monitoring and proper management of the intervention of the funds that TETFUND is managing. 

” Bursars have always been having meetings to address some of the issues within the University system. Apart from funding which is a major challenge in the system.  We want to look at how you can generate funds , attract investment and intervention funding to Universities. 

” We have encountered our members that they should be able to attract funding.  Almost all the Bursars are already becoming academicians, most of them have become Ph.D holders and they know the importance of education. 

” As managers of the Universities we are also  ensuring a peaceful environment, and that is why we always have meetings with all the unions in the school to give them adequate information, so that they will not hold government to ransom”, Imagbe added.