The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has berated 19 state governments owning the West African Examination Council (WAEC) the sum of N4 billion for their inability to pay the examination fees they promised to pay for students from their respective states.

Accusing the state governors of not giving education the priority it deserves by being political about it, which has led to threats from WAEC to withhold the results, the union through its national secretary general, Comrade Obong IJ Obong, ‎said the governors are as usual playing lip service and grandingstanding.

Obong said “It is important to state here that the policy of the state governments to take responsibility of the payment of the WASC Examination fees is commendable, as it was meant to lessen the financial burden on parents and guardians. However, the failure of the debtor – states to fulfill their pledge to WAEC smacks of the characteristic lip service and political grandstanding of governments to public education which is key to the transformation and future wellbeing of the Nigerian children.”

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“Certainly, this unwholesome development portends danger to the future and educational prospects of the candidates and we demand that the issue be timely resolved by the affected state governments to ensure prompt release of the result to the candidates.”

“Government should not toy with the future of our children on the altar of politics. If they are not sincere and committed to paying the exam fees of their students, they should stop the grandstanding and allow parents to take the destiny of their children in their hands.”

The NUT also observed with dismay the recent protests by parents and candidates over the alleged increase in the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) cut-off marks by some universities as against the decision of the 2015 combined policy meeting on admissions that pegged the cut-off marks at 180 for universities and 150 for other tertiary institutions such as polytechnics and colleges of education.

The union observed that athough the policy of JAMB was well intended to reduce waste and to provide the candidates space in institutions other than their first choice, “it is our view that the policy failed to take into account the right of the candidate to choose his/her institution of learning. It is therefore our submission that in order to draw a nexus between the laudable objective of JAMB and the desire of the candidates to choose their institutions, JAMB should reconsider the position of a second choice university for all candidates.”

The union also reminded the Federal Government on the need for the retirement age of primary and secondary school teachers to be raised from 60-65 years as in the case of judges and tertiary school teachers.

It said this has become imperative considering the alarming rate of teachers’ retirement without a corresponding recruitment which has resulted to acute lack of teachers experienced by states across the country.

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