The government of Ondo State has ordered a refund of monies paid by parents whose children are to write the 2021 West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Lola Amuda, had given the directive to principals and heads of public secondary schools in the state on Wednesday in Akure.
She spoke at a meeting with the state’s executive members of the All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) and other stakeholders in the education sector.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) 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.
Mrs Amuda tasked the schools’ administrators to reciprocate the government’s gesture by putting in their best and ensuring that the students performed excellently at the examination.
She described the principals as “the eyes and ears of government’’ in their schools and tasked them on proper implementation of government’s policies and programmes in schools across the state.
She enjoined them to build the students academically as well as mould their characters and influence their views of 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.
Responding, the state President of ANCOPPS, Johnbull Mebawondu, thanked the government for being considerate and promised that the principals would abide by the government policy.
Mr Mebawondu stressed that the government’s gesture would relieve parents and guardians of the financial burden associated with WASSCE.
