Ebonyi State government has paid N50million to the West African Examination Council (WAEC) as fine for malpractices and de-recognition of 345 private, mission and public schools in the state.
The state government said the fine was paid to enable students of the 345 schools derecognised by WAEC to register for the examination this year.
The commissioner for education, Dr Sunday Nwangele while briefing journalists on the progress made by the state government to enable schools register for WAEC, said that the state governor Chief David Umahi approved the sun of N50million which has been remitted to the exam council.
It would be called that the Governing Council of WAEC last year derecognised 345 schools in the state over examination malpractices and fined each of the schools N500,000 and other logistics for the conduct of external exams or lose the chances of registering for the exam for two consecutive years.
He stated that the state government has also appealed to the exam body to write off the balance of the fine adding that the State does not tolerate any form of exam malpractice but had to comply in the interest of the students and parents.
Nwangele noted that out of the 345 schools derecognised, 196 are public schools while 149 are private schools and expressed regret that there was no malpractice form filled by any school following exam malpractice and wondered how the examination council came up with the claim.
He said that the Parents Teachers Association, PTA of some of the affected schools has also intervened adding that all the schools in the state have registered for the examination having reached an agreement with the examination body.