The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has opposed the Federal Ministry of Education’s alleged sanctioning of a price hike for West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) registrations, labeling the move as unfeeling given the current financial hardships Nigerians are experiencing.
In a press statement dropped on Saturday and endorsed by its President, Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, the student union denounced both the ministry’s endorsement and the initial pitch by the test boards to raise the rates.
“The rumored hike bumps the registration cost for each test up to N50,000, pushing the aggregate total for students planning to take both the WAEC and NECO exams to N100,000, which doesn’t even include the extra fees tacked on by individual schools,” NANS pointed out.
The union maintained that the price jump would pile more financial pressure on students and their households at a time when a vast number of Nigerians are already struggling under the weight of ongoing economic adjustments.
“If the Federal Ministry of Education alongside the heads of WAEC and NECO are unable to make these assessments more wallet-friendly and reachable, they ought to hold back from rolling out strategies that pile further burdens onto students and parents,” NANS asserted.
The student group also took issue with the decision-making framework, claiming that the approval went through without proper discussions with key players—most notably the National Association of Nigerian Students, which it identified as the primary body representing the nation’s student population.
“A choice of this scale, which impacts millions of learners across the country, cannot be pushed through unilaterally by the Ministry of Education. Anything done for us, without our involvement, is ultimately against us,” the remarks stated.
NANS called upon the Federal Ministry of Education to walk back the rumored fee increase immediately and urged the institution to include student leaders in upcoming policy dialogues that affect Nigerian learners.
The student union reaffirmed its commitment to keeping up the fight for the welfare and rights of scholars throughout the nation.
