That 19 state governments are indebted to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for failure to pay the registration fees of their students for the 2015 West African School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is no longer a surprise, what is more amusing is that the governors have further demonstrated their avowed disdain for education and the people. The WAEC, Head of National Office (HNO), Mr. Charles Eguridu, while addressing the media last week, had threatened to withhold the results of candidates of states that owe the council, when the results for the 2015 May/June SSCE are released. With the outstanding debt running to over N4 billion, the council said if the affected states failed to off-set their debts as soon as possible it would not guarantee the release of the results of their candidates.
As a result of the governors’ refusal to off-set the payment despite repeated appeals, the council has found it difficult to meet its financial obligations, particularly to its supervisors, examiners and other service providers. It is more worrisome that before the threat, series of letters written to the affected state governments on the development by the council, were not responded to, as the missives were treated with usual nonchalant attitude of most of the governors to education. With the promise to run a free education policy and provide unfettered access to qualitative education, (which is crucial to the overall development of the country), to every child irrespective of his or her parents’ socioeconomic status, the latest action of the 19 governors is a sober reflection of a country aspiring to raise a new generation of leaders.
Indeed, this would not be the first time some of the governors would display their lackadaisical attitude towards the payment of WASCCE registration fees for their candidates, but the number of governors involved this time is so alarming that the council has to shout. What the governors failed to realize through their action is that the needs of the students did not end with payment of their registration fees, they, however, forgot that the results and certificates would be required by the students to process admission to higher institutions, which would rather be made impossible when the results are withheld. The action of the governors is not only condemnable, but clearly indicates their insensitivity to the needs of the candidates and utter disregard to keep faith with their promises to give the people the dividend of democracy.
Apart from the fact that education is an inalienable right of every child, irrespective of race, sex, economic and social status, religion or creed, which is the responsibility of the government, education as a purveyor of development, should be taken seriously at every level of national development. Unfortunately, this is not to be, considering the impunity with which the national and state recourses were being frivolously spent and mismanaged when sectors like education, health and infrastructure unduly suffered in the face of this unabated quantum wastage. The governors cannot say that they have exhausted the state resources without education as a main focus, when it is obvious that a lot of misplacement of priority is the order of the day in the states, where the Chief executives receive unaccounted for security votes which should ordinarily have been deployed to improving infrastructure. With this latest development as well as the failure of the governors to pay the workers, they should be called to order to perform their civic roles to the citizenry as expected, by refocusing and redirecting the state agenda to the benefit of the masses, and pursue such to the letter.
A situation whereby examination bodies such as WAEC have to threaten to withhold candidates’ results because of the failure of the governors to pay their registration fees is antithetical to the overall well-being of the students and national aspirations. We are taken aback by the sharp response of the Ogun State Government to WAEC’s threat with the payment of N496 million the state owed the regional examination body over night. It is rather not suggestive to query where the state government sourced the funds in that short period if apparently the governor was not playing to the gallery. That is a clear demonstration and which can be rationalised that the government at all levels is merely playing politics with the education of the people and the development of the country. Other governors, who are yet to toe the path of honour, though uncharitable this time, should as a matter of urgency off-set their debt so that the innocent candidates could get their results.
