The Zamfara State Government has settled accumulated debts owed examination bodies leading to the release of withheld students results.
Briefing newsmen on this development, the state commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Malam Wadato Madawaki said this has ended nearly a decade non release of students results.
He said the milestone was one of the gains of Governor Dauda Lawal’s declaration of a state of emergency on education in November 2023.
Malam Wadato Madawaki explained that, when they assumed office, they met a chaotic situation where public school students who sat for WAEC and NECO examinations between 2015 and 2023 could not access their results.
He alleged that, previous administrations of Zamfara has failed to pay their examination fees.
According to him, Zamfara owed WAEC ₦1.4 billion for the period 2019 to 2023, while NECO was owed ₦1.3 billion for examinations conducted between 2019 and 2022.
Adding that, backlog of ₦1.022 billion covering 2015 to 2018 NECO exams was also settled by the present administration of Governor Dauda Lawal.
He noted that due to the debts, Zamfara public schools were initially barred from writing NECO examinations in 2022 and 2023, but following Governor Lawal’s intervention, NECO shifted the 2023 exams by two weeks to allow students from the state to participate.
“With the Governor’s approval, all outstanding payments have now been made. WAEC has released all withheld results up to 2024, while NECO has cleared results from 2015 to 2022″
Malam Wadato Madawaki further revealed that, Governor Lawal Intervention has secured the future of students, many of whom could not collect their higher institution certificates because their secondary school results were withheld.
Madawaki commended Governor Lawal for demonstrating strong political will to reposition education in Zamfara, stressing that the state of emergency was necessary to correct years of neglect in the sector.
In a related development, the Commissioner has officially handed over certificates and broadsheets of students to the Director of Examinations in the Ministry, Malam Saidu Mudi Gusau, for onward distribution to school principals.
The documents covered several examination years, including 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2024.
“For instance, here is the broadsheet for Government Secondary School, Birnin Magaji, for the 2018 examinations, which I am officially handing over today. Similarly, this set of certificates for Government Day Secondary School, Damba, for the 2024 examinations, is also being handed over for distribution,” Madawaki said.
He assured that the Ministry would ensure timely delivery of the documents to beneficiaries, while urging principals to handle the process diligently to guarantee that all certificates reach their rightful owners without delay.
COV/AMINU DALHATU
