The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools in Lagos State has hailed the Federal Government’s review of fees for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, Senior Secondary Certificate Examination and Basic Education Certificate Examination.
NAPPS commended the FG’s gesture, saying it had taken steps to meet the yearning and aspirations of Nigerians regarding the nation’s education sector.
The Federal Executive Council had last Wednesday approved the downward review of the examination registration fees with effect from January 2019. It announced a reduction in the cost of the UTME application form from the current N5,000 to N3,500.
The FEC also slashed the fee for the SSCE to N9,850 from N11,350 charged applicants before now. While the UTME is conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, the SSCE is supervised by the National Examinations Council.
NAPPS said that the reduction in the application fees for the two examinations by the FG was a clear manifestation of the government’s response to the feelings of the ordinary Nigerians.
The association also noted that with this development, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration had upheld democratic practice by showing concern for the masses, who had earlier protested and called for the reduction of the fees for the examinations.
Speaking on behalf of the association, the Lagos State Chairman of NAPPS, Alhaji Kamal Akande, told our correspondent in an exclusive interview that by its latest action on the matter, the government had done what Nigerians had been yearning for in the area of education.
Akande said, “This is a dividend of democracy and it shows that this present government has the interest of the masses at heart. You will agree with me that sometime this year, some people demonstrated that they should reduce the fee when the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Oloyede, declared surplus. Let me put it like this: this has never happened in the history of JAMB.
“This means that this administration is really fighting corruption. It means that there has been corruption before Prof. Oloyede took over; we did not realize that we can make a lot of money for the country through JAMB. This is why the President said that we cannot continue to inflict pain on our people through education.
“This present government has shown that they love education and that is what we need. NECO examination is our own, there is no need to make the fee high. Three thousand Naira discount is a lot for the people.”
The NAPPS chairman, however, criticised those who have described the government’s action as a propaganda towards winning the 2019 elections.
Akande said Nigerians had become known for criticising both the good and the bad, stressing that the FG had done well regarding the reduction of both the UTME and SSCE registration fees.
He said, “There is nothing you do in Nigeria that people will not criticize you. People have been saying it was done by the administration to score cheap political points because its tenure is about to end and that is why they did it. Nigerians are bound to criticise both the good and the bad.
“When did they protest over the fee? It was this year; if the Government has come out to reduce it, is it not in favour of the masses?”
“What if it was increased? The people will still
criticise.”
