Shelve increment of NECO, WASSCE fees outrightly, not suspend, APM senatorial candidate tells FG, says plan’ll increase school drop out
BY STEPHEN GBADAMOSI
The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) senatorial candidate for Oyo Central Senatorial District, Ambassador Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo, has called on the Federal Government to completely drop the idea of increasing the registration fees for the 2027 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the National Examinations Council (NECO), saying such thinking is not in tune with the hardship currently being encountered by Nigerians.
Recall that the Federal Government last Monday said it had suspended its proposed increase in registration fees for the 2027 WASSCE and the NECO, following public concerns over the move.
In a statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Education, the government announced the withdrawal of a June 18, 2026 letter that had communicated the proposed adjustment in examination fees.
According to the statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Folasade Boriowo, the decision was taken to allow for broader consultations and a fresh review of the proposal before any final determination is made.
However, Oguntoyinbo, in a statement issued on Wednesday and made available to Journalists in Ibadan, said the suspension of the hike in the examination fees by the Federal Government was not the right decision, adding that the planned hike should be dropped totally.
“There is no need for consultation. The proposal of hike in the registration fees of WASSCE and NECO in the first instance is uncalled for,” he said.
Oguntoyinbo said parents were already suffering hardship as they struggled daily to feed themselves and their children, adding that most of them could not even afford to pay the current registration fees for the examinations.
Oguntoyinbo, a philanthropist who has been helping many indigent students to pay for WASSCE, NECO and JAMB UTME forms and registration fees, said the Federal Government should not in any way contribute to the increment in dropout of students from schools.
He said he was even calling on the Federal Government to make the registration for the examinations free for students.
“The duty of the governments is to adequately educate its citizens; so, it is odd that the Federal Government is hiking examination fees when many parents are not financially buoyant to send their wards to schools and the number of school dropouts is on the increase.
“If not for some well-to-do individuals in the country who are assisting the indigent students, the number of school dropouts would have reached an alarming rate.
“So, there is no need for further consideration on the hike in examinations fees. The position of Nigerians is no to fees hike. The Federal Government should even be thinking of increasing the purchasing power of parents, as they are currently being hammered by the harsh economic climate in the country,” Oguntoyinbo said in the statement.
