The Governor of Cross River State, His Excellency, Senator Apostle (Prince) Bassey Edet Otu, having acknowledged the economic hardship being faced by the people, has decided to prolong an intervention aimed at alleviating the suffering of Cross Riverians through the implementation of the following measures in the State Education Sector as presented by the Commissioner for Education, Senator (Associate Prof) Stephen Odey to Council for:

  1. Free tuition for all pupils/students of Cross River State origin in Public Primary and Secondary Schools in the state;
  2. Exemption of all students of Cross River State origin in Public Secondary Schools in the State from the payment of the Senior Secondary School Examination fees conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC).

Following the consideration by His Excellency, Governor Apostle (Prince) Bassey Edet Otu and the State Executive Council, approval has been graciously granted for the release of N399,708,000.00 to register 14, 804 candidates of Cross River State origin for the 2025 WAEC Examination at a cost of N27,000.00 per candidate.

The Governor and the State Executive Council are highly commended for their magnanimous decision to provide free WAEC registration for indigenous students. Notably, in 2024, His Excellency the Governor of Cross River State sponsored the registration of 16,301 candidates of Cross River origin for the 2024 WAEC Examination, totaling N440,127,000.00. This initiative yielded a satisfactory outcome, with 72.1% of candidates achieving 5 credits and above, including English and Mathematics, marking a significant improvement over the 2023 WASSCE results.

By SaintAugustine Adula Odey

January 8, 2025.