The Lagos State Government has cautioned parents against paying any fee or levy for the Junior Secondary School (JSS) Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for students in the state.
Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Education, Adebunmi Adekanye said this on Thursday in Ikeja, the state capital, while reacting to alleged extortion from parents whose children would be sitting for the examination.
EduCeleb.com had earlier reported the commencement of the 2019 BECE registration, which was from Monday, 14th January and would end on Friday, 12th April, 2019.
The government, through the Lagos State Examinations Board was also quoted to have slated late registration avenues from between 15th April, 2019 and end on the 3rd of May, 2019.
Mrs Adekanye said the state government had paid the fees of all students sitting for the examination in the state.
According to her, JSS3 students in public schools sitting for the BECE in the state should not pay any money to anyone under any guise as all fees relating to the examination have been fully paid by the state government.
She warned public officials to desist from extorting money from parents under various guises, which included payment for practical examinations.
Adekanye said anyone caught in the act would face the consequences of their action.
Adekanye said in furtherance of the free education policy of the state government, all fees for all terminal examinations such as BECE and West Africa Senior School Certificate of Education were fully paid by the government.
She said the gesture was to ease the burden on parents as well as create equal opportunities for all qualified students to sit for the examinations and prove their mettle, irrespective of the circumstances or financial position of their parents.
The public administrator urged students and parents to report any government official requesting for money whatsoever to the Tutor-Generals in their education districts or Ministry of Education, Alausa for prompt action.
