Obanikoro Faults N10,000 Fee For Junior Students Exam, By Lagos State Govt

Current ministerial nominee and immediate past Minister of State for Defence, Sen. Musliu Obanikoro, on Monday, faulted the Lagos State Government’s recent introduction of N10,000 examination fees for Junior Secondary School Students in the state. Obanikoro spoke at a campaign rally organised by the Lagos State Chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos Island.

The Lagos State Government had announced that final year students of Junior Secondary School level who are to write Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination (JSCE) in the state would pay N10, 000 as examination fees.

According to NAN, the erstwhile gubernatorial aspirant of the PDP in Lagos, Obanikoro, stated that, faulted the state governor, who was a beneficiary of free education, on his imposition of such financial hardship on students and their parents.

He said it was unfair for him to introduce such fees, especially at a time of harsh economic realities. “This will no doubt stop many students from taking the JSS examinations,” he said. Obanikoro said that the state government should rescind its decision on the payment so as not to discourage parents from sending their wards to school.
“There is no basis of this inhuman policy and especially in a state administered by those who claim to be progressives,’’ he said.

Mr Jimi Agbaje, the governorship candidate of PDP in the state, reiterated that he would make basic education free if elected. “My administration will give premium attention to education and ensure that all children of school age have basic as well technical education,” he said.
Agbaje also promised to pay the state civil servants their minimum wage as well as other allowances owed by the current administration.