Niger State House of Assembly has accused some privately owned schools in Niger State of exploiting parents by charging exorbitant fees for WAEC and NECO examinations in the state.
Lawmakers of the Niger State House of Assembly brought the issue to fore during the plenary in Minna.
The schools were said to be charging as high as N250,000 for the final examinations fees.
Raising the issue under the matter of urgent importance, the member representing Agwara, Honourable Bello Ahmad disclosed that some private schools in the state charge as high as N250,000 to N300,000 per student to enable them to register for the final year examinations.
Ahmad stated that the official fee for WAEC is N15,000 while for NECO is N11,000 adding that the fees charged by private schools bother on the exploitation of parents.
The legislator knocked the accused private schools for not meeting their mandate of complementing the effort of the government in providing adequate education to Nigerlites which is the reason why private schools in the state were established.
During deliberation on the issue, the legislators agreed that the private schools should not be allowed to charge examination fees anyhow as it was observed that the majority of the parents of the children who attend these schools are salary earners.
“We cannot allow the private schools to charge examination fees any. There is a need to regulate the maximum amount that should be paid as examination fees in private schools in the state.
The Assembly then resolved to invite the State Commissioner for Education and the Director-General of the Private Schools Board to appear and explain to the House why private schools in the State charge students exorbitant for WAEC and NECO Examinations.
