By S. Siapha Mulbah
The head of National Office at the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) Liberia, Dale Gbotoe, has disclosed that Liberian students might likely not be allowed to sit this year’s West African Secondary School Certificate Exams (WASSCE) if the country does not meet up with its financial obligation to the West African Testing Body.
The WAEC Liberia office informed the public that the Government of Liberia is indebted to the office of the West African Examination Council in the tune of over US$5m from accumulated debt.
Gbotoe noted that over the last ten years, the Liberian Government has not been able to settle its due payments to the council as a member association, and the debt to that effect has exceeded over US5m, noting that since the Government of Liberia intervened to pay the examination fees for all candidates writing the test every year, it has only paid due three times, which could risk the country’s chances of forming part of the council.
He explained, “The Government of Liberian owes WAEC an accumulated debt on obligation, which is like due, stressing, “This debt is not on examination fee because the government has been paying the candidates examination fees in the last five years. In this period, Liberia has only paid its annual obligation in due three times, making the debt to be over US$5m.
Speaking on a local radio station in Monrovia, the WEAC boss warned that in the absence of Liberia settling its obligation with WAEC, 12th and 9th grade students might not be allowed to write this year’s exams.
He however clarified that the Liberian Government has made good on its obligation to paying the examination fees for all 12th and 9th grade students attending both public, private, and faith-based schools, with an intent to reduce the huge financial burden of the heads of their parents, saying, “The new government has not communicated with us as to whether it will terminate the initiative or continue.
He claimed that the last administration informed WAEC through the Ministry of Education that the funding of the exam for this year would be made available by the government, through the budget that was submitted to the Legislature by the Executive.
Gbotoe explained that those in Junior High that are to write the exam at their level before promotion to senior high are only required to pay for the exam as private school candidates, and the public-school candidates will be paid for by government as part of the agreement between WAEC Liberia office and the last administration.
WAEC is expected to administer the 2023/2024 regional examinations to 12th and 9th grade students across the country, beginning May of this year, and its national office in Liberia said that the timetable of the examination is set, which makes it difficult to inform parents or guardians to pay the WAEC fees for their kids who are expected to sit the exam.
Gbotoe said that the national office of the regional examination council in Liberia that is responsible for its activities has not informed any school to collect fees from candidates for the exam that is scheduled to be administered from May to June of this year.
“The registration process for the exam is ongoing and the test will be administered sometime in May to June of this year. The time is short to start telling parents to pay exam fees for the candidates and we have not communicated with any school as WAEC to collect fees from students,” he asserted.
He maintained that the those in private junior high schools to write the exam on the national scale are required to pay L$5,500 as exam fees, and 6th graders that are seeking promotion to junior high in both private and public schools are also required to pay L$ 2,000 as examination fees, while those writing the 3rd grade exams are to pay L$1,000 in all schools. WAEC office added that the required processing fees to pay per student for any of the exams under the WAEC is L$150.
Gbotoe noted that any other fee that would be requested by schools or administrators, such as flexibility fees, are not to the knowledge of the Council and any parent or guardian who adheres to such payments is considered criminal and illegal; meaning, anyone paying extra fees for the exam is doing it at their own risk.
