Niger Pays NECO N200m Debt, Over 30,000 Students’ Withheld Results

Niger State Government has concluded talks with the National Examination Commission (NECO) to release the result of about 30, 000 students of the state withheld by the examination body. A statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mrs. Mary Noel Berje indicates that the state government has paid over N200 million to NECO this year to offset part of the students examination fees. According to the statement, government has also paid well over a billion Naira, from 2017, to various examination bodies to date. It reiterated the commitment of the state government to providing free and compulsory basic education in the state. The statement said the state government has agreed to pay the examination body N50 million monthly for the outstanding balance that have accrued over the years. “The state government has met with the officials of NECO, we have agreed in principles, after making some payments last week, that they will release the results this week,” the statement explained. While acknowledging education as the bedrock of any meaningful development, the statement expressed government’s commitment and effort towards revamping the education sector as one of its top priority assuring that it will not be compromised.