Benue State Government has launched a bold offensive against illegal charges in public schools, announcing a zero-tolerance policy for unauthorized fees imposed by school administrators.
The Executive Secretary, Benue Education Quality Assurance and Examination Board ,BEQAEB, Dr.
Terna Francis gave this warning during a meeting with principals of public and private schools held in Makurdi.
He said the government has made e-Dossier compulsory for all learners and the platform was introduced to serve as an automated performance tracker and a credible record of learner progress from Basic 1 to Basic 9 and from SS 1 to SS 3.
Terna said the system will also help the board to rank schools by performance and monitor the migration of students.
He revealed that the Board has fully automated all payments for its examinations to be done online or through the banking system to cut down corruption and other illegalities in the system.
Terna said staff of the board are no longer permitted to collect payment, issue receipts, or act as an agent for any school or candidate.
He directed principals and school administrators to exclusively channel all complaints and enquiries through official communication channels.
“The new BEQAEB is, therefore, not a cosmetic change; it is a total rebirth aimed at efficiency, integrity, and accountability.
”Our examination system lost credibility. The defunct Benue State Examinations Board, as you well know, became synonymous with corruption, inefficiency and lost confidence.
“We witnessed delays in the release of results, years of unissued certificates, irregularities in exam conduct, and a deep erosion of public trust.
”These failures embarrassed our education system and robbed our students of the dignity of genuine assessment,” he said.
