Ondo Youths Accuse Govt Of Indebtedness To WAEC Which Led To Withheld Results

By Ayodele Oni

Following non-release of results of public schools in Ondo state in the just concluded West African School Certificate Examination, (WASCE) by the examination body, Coordinator of Ondo State Youths for Good Governance, Olawale Aladejana, has accused Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of not giving education necessary attention.

The West African Examination Council, (WAEC) explained that the Ondo state government is indebted to the council, hence the results are withheld.

The group described the situation as unfortunate and demanded immediate rectification by the state government .

The State Ministry of education has however assured that the problem is mainly logistics which will be resolved soonest.

The statement by the group reads, “We are appalled by the governor’s negligence and lack of commitment to the education of our children.

“The payment of WAEC fees for students in public secondary school has always been the responsibility of the state government, and the failure of the Aiyedatiwa-led administration to do so is a betrayal of the trust placed in him by the people.

“It has been reported that WAEC wrote “INDEBTED” on the results of some students from Public secondary school students in Ondo State. This is due to the Ondo State Government’s alleged debt to WAEC, which has resulted in the withholding of results for affected students.

“The debt is believed to be related to unpaid registration fees or other financial obligations owed by the state government to WAEC. As a result, WAEC has placed an “INDEBTED” status on the affected students’ results, pending the settlement of the debt.

“Affected students and parents have been advised to contact the Ondo State Ministry of Education or WAEC for further guidance on resolving the issue.

“We demand that the governor takes immediate action to rectify the situation by paying the outstanding fees and ensuring timely payment in the future.

“We also call on the governor to take responsibility for the distress and uncertainty caused to the affected students.”

The State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Olaolu Akindolire, said  in Akure that as part of the administration’s commitment to ease the burden of parents, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has paid about N550 Million Naira for 26,088 students that sat for the 2024 WASSCE Examination in the state public schools.

According to him, the Governor has also approved the balance payment of N158,716 Thousand Naira for the 2024 WASSCE Registration fee for students in public Secondary schools.

On the challenge of students in accessing their WASSCE results, the Commissioner said the state government has taken it up with officials of WAEC, and the issues, which are basically logistics hitches, will be resolved soon.