Bauchi govt approves payment of JAMB, NECO, other fees for students

The Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed has approved the payment of UTME registration fees for 3,810 students who obtained grades ‘A’ and ‘B’ in the just concluded SSCE Aptitude Test in the State.

As indicated in a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday, the Commissioner, Ministry of Education, Dr Aliyu Tilde, disclosed that Governor Mohammed has also approved payment of NABTEB examination fees for all the 1,751 SS3 Students of Government Technical Colleges.

The Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed

Also, the governor approved payment of all the 499 students sitting for the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) exams from Government Arabic Colleges, stating that next year, these groups will also be subjected to passing the Aptitude Test.

The statement read, “As usual, NECO registration fees for 11,580 successful candidates who scored A, B and C in the Aptitude Test will also be paid. The total cost of these sponsorships is N185,580,550.00.

“As at today, the state government does not owe any of the three national examination bodies a Kobo. He has approved the clearing of the new amount by August ending, in sha Allah.

“The payment of JAMB/UTME registration fees to Aptitude Test candidates is novel in the state. However, eligible students must hasten to obtain their NIN before the money will be paid to the bank from which the forms will be purchased.

“Arrangements are underway to see the immediate registration of students in their nearest local government headquarters. The Ministry, right now, cash in hand is ready to pay for any eligible student who has a NIN.

“The list of A and B grade students eligible for the UTME sponsorship will be released to schools through their emails tomorrow. At the same time it will also be published on Principals’ WhatsApp platform, God willing.

“The payment of UTME registration fees, I must hasten to say, will not be a mandatory policy on government. Rather, it will be enjoyed by meritorious students any year the government is pleased to do so within the confines of its revenue. In other words, it is a palliative or say, incentive that will be given whenever feasible.”