The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Mr. Kofi Asare, has called on the government to review or cancel the Free WASSCE exam fees policy to save resources. His statement follows the government’s failure to settle a debt of GHS118 million owed to WAEC for the examination, which has hampered the council’s operations and delayed the release of the 2024 WASSCE results.
Speaking to JoyNews on the matter, which was monitored by GhanaEducation.org, Mr. Asare explained that the introduction of free WASSCE registration fees for public SHS students requires the government to pay at least an extra GHS400.00 per student, amounting to approximately GHS170,000,000.
He further stated that he believes many parents of the 1.7 million WASSCE students over the years could afford to pay for the examination without government assistance. He questioned whether parents of learners in Free SHS could not save GHS470.00 over three years to cover their wards’ WASSCE fees.
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Mr. Asare acknowledged that while some Ghanaian parents might face challenges in paying these fees, many can afford them without government support. He recommended a targeted approach to the Free WASSCE fees policy, suggesting that parents unable to pay should liaise with school authorities for government assistance.
This approach, he argued, would prevent WAEC from being financially handicapped, enabling the council to carry out its mandate effectively.
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WAEC has reported that it should have completed marking the objective test scripts by November 30, 2024. However, financial constraints have prevented the council from paying technicians who previously worked on repairing the broken objective test marking machines. Additionally, WAEC is unable to re-engage the same technicians, as the council still owes them for previous work.
The review of Free WASSCE Fees has become part of the Free SHS and may not be cancelled in the near future.