Lawmaker pays N34m for students WAEC fees in Toto

A House of Representatives member for Nasarawa-Toto federal constituency, Alhaji Abdulmumin Muhammad Ari, has paid WAEC fees for indigent secondary school students in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State worth N34 million. Ari, while presenting cheques to principals of government secondary schools in Toto, last Friday, said the scholarship was for payment of 2,427 […]

A House of Representatives member for Nasarawa-Toto federal constituency, Alhaji Abdulmumin Muhammad Ari, has paid WAEC fees for indigent secondary school students in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State worth N34 million.

Ari, while presenting cheques to principals of government secondary schools in Toto, last Friday, said the scholarship was for payment of 2,427 indigenous students that would be sitting for the WAEC examinations in this 2019-2020 academic session.

He said he decided to subsidize the WAEC fee by N14,000 for each candidate from N17,000, to enable the indigent students write the regional exam. He urged parents to intensify efforts and pay the balance of N3,000.

According to him, the gesture was to support education at the grassroots, noting that most students give up their academic pursuit after six years in school because they could not afford WAEC registration fees.

He promised to continue footing the bills of indigent students and those of the less privileged ones in his constituency to ensure they acquire education. He also promised to give more support to other educational programmes.

Also speaking, the Chairman of Toto Local Government Area, Prince Nuhu Dauda, commended the efforts of the lawmaker for supporting the education sector in his constituency.

He noted several developmental programmes had been achieved since his assumption of office, while emphasising the need for all well-meaning individuals and groups to continue to support the APC-led administration.

On his part, the Nasarawa State Commissioner for Health, Ahmed Baba Yahaya, commended the lawmaker for the gesture, saying it indicated that he has keyed into the state government’s initiative of giving priority to education as evident in the just signed 2020 appropriation bill.

He noted that the allocation of about 26 percent to education in the state budget was a milestone toward reviving the education sector of the state.