Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, has approved the release of over N1.39 billion to cover the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) fees for thousands of students in public secondary schools across the state, in line with his administration’s free and compulsory education policy.
The intervention is aimed at eliminating financial barriers to education and ensuring that students from less privileged backgrounds are able to participate in external examinations without hardship.
Commissioner for Information and Reorientation, Hon. Zeinab Jalingo, disclosed that the approved sum of N1,390,209,350.00 will cater for 39,536 students sitting for the 2026 WAEC examination across public secondary schools in the state.
According to her, the funds will cover several components of the examination process.
“The approval according to the commissioner information and reorientation Taraba state government Hon. Zeinab Jalingo, the funds covers a total of N1,390,209,350.00 for the settlement of the 2026 WAEC fees for 39,536 students, including payments for CASS offload, administrative charges, practicals, monitoring, sensitization, remuneration, school albums, registration PINs and other related examination expenses.”
She further revealed that the government is also preparing to extend similar support to students sitting for the National Examinations Council (NECO).
“Following the release of funds for WAEC, the Taraba State Government is also set to settle the examination fees of 38,000 students who will be sitting for the National Examinations Council (NECO) as the next phase of the intervention, further expanding access to external examinations for students across the state.”
In addition to examination support, the governor also approved funds for the Students Exchange Programme aimed at strengthening academic exposure and integration among students.
“In addition to the WAEC intervention, the governor has also approved the release of N243,832,615.00 to support food contractors and transporters involved in the state’s Students Exchange Programme. The approval covers feeding arrangements and transportation logistics for students participating in the programme across schools in the state.”
She broke down the allocation, noting that a significant portion would support feeding arrangements, while others would address transportation logistics.
“Out of this amount, N148,565,040.00 is allocated for the feeding of students at Government Comprehensive Secondary School Jalingo and Government Day Secondary School Wukari, while N52,750,490.00 and N42,517,085.00 are earmarked for the transportation of indigenous and non-indigenous students participating in the exchange programme across the 19 northern states.”
Jalingo said the approvals reflect the administration’s continued investment in education and student development.
“These interventions reflect the administration’s sustained commitment to strengthening the education sector by ensuring that students participate seamlessly in both internal and external academic programmes.”
She added that the government remains focused on expanding educational access and improving learning outcomes across Taraba State.
“With these interventions, Taraba state government remains committed to ensuring that children in the state have no reason to be out of school, as the administration continues to prioritize education as a foundation for sustainable development”, she said.
