The Katsina State Government has spent over N208 million on the payment of WAEC examination fees for 21,589 candidates in 2019.
The Commissioner of Education, Prof. Badamasi Lawal, made the disclosure on Sunday in Katsina during a press briefing.
He said that 7,276 out of 21,589 candidates who sat for the examination, scored five credits and above including Mathematics and English Language, which represents 50 per cent.
According to him, 14,481 candidates also scored five credits and above in other subjects, representing 66 per cent.
Lawal attributed the successes to the commitments of the administration in enhancing infrastructure development in schools, teachers recruitment and training as well as provision of instructional materials, among others.
He commended the 12 Zonal Quality Assurance Offices in the state for the job well-done in the area of monitoring, inspection and evaluation that assisted in recording the successes.
The commissioner further revealed that the performance of state candidates has been improving since inception of the present administration in 2015.
Lawal further said that from 2015 to 2018, no fewer than 245,126 candidates sat for WAEC, NECO, NABTEB and NBAIS pointing out that 158,908 candidates obtained five credits and above in other subjects.
Lawal added that a total of 96,334 candidates scored five credits including Mathematics and English Language during the period under review.
“For easy comparism, it is important to note that, we took over from a government in 2015.
“Between 2011 to 2015, a total of 417,756 candidates sat for all the four examinations.
“During the period under review, 79,044 candidates got five credits and above in any subjects.
”So, we can say that the present administration has improved performance of students in examinations conducted.
”Gov Masari did not only scored the N1 million votes, but also trying to reposition and restore the lost glory in education in the state,” he said.
He said that the state government had earmarked over N20 billion for education sector in the 2020 budget adding that does not include payment of salaries of SUBEB teachers.
He said that the ministry has designed a One Inspector, One School Approach system so that every school would be monitored effectively.
The commissioner urged parents to reciprocate the gesture by continuously sending their children to school and supporting the government policies.(NAN)