By Nsan Ndoma-Neji
Cross River State House of Assembly Committee on Education has mandated the State Ministry of Education to accept registration of students seeking enrollment in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) organize by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) without waiting to be cleared by the state branch of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS).
The committee chairman, Martins Achadu, gave the order during engagement with NAPPS stakeholders in Calabar Monday.
Achadu stated that what should be prioritize for now by the committee is to ensure that no child is deprived in the registration of WAEC to enable the child sit for the forthcoming examination because of crisis in NAPPS.
The committee asked the State Ministry of Education to allow proprietors of private schools go ahead with registration of students for WAEC without necessarily obtaining clearance from any of the NAPPS factions.
The lawmakers stated that arrangement is in top gear to convene another stakeholders meeting in two weeks time to enable the committee brainstorm with members of the Association and ensure that all the factions are merged together as one indivisible entity.
“To the Permanent Secretary, in the meantime do please liaise with the Ministry of Education and ensure that any private school coming to register for WAEC is allow to register, because as it stands now, we are taking both factions of the association to surgical room. They are undergoing proper surgery.
“Please allow everyone who who come to you for WAEC registration. Disregard this issue of NAPPS registration fee for now so that we don’t hurt ourselves because of NAPPS registration fee receipt and clearance.”
Also speaking, another member of the Committee and member representing Ikom I state constituency, Samuel Neji-Abang, called for calm and urged the warring factions to sheathe their sword pending the outcome of the Committee’s final report.
In his remarks, factional president of NAAPS in the state, Sir Godwin Okwu, chastised the immediate past Exco of the Association for leading the Association as if it were their private estate that is not accountable to members of the association.
Okwu urged the State Ministry of Education not to allow any of the factions of NAPPS collect levies from proprietors of schools on the ministry’s behalf but advised the ministry to directly collect levies meant for government by themselves during registration of students for the 2025 WASSCE.
“We had a leadership that spent whole nine years on the saddle with no statement of account despite levy collection and refusing to be accountable to members.
“The ministry might not know what we are passing through. We are not troublesome. We want to work with the ministry. If there is any information on what we should do, we will do to enable us work with the ministry and not these factions.”
But the factional leader of NAPPS in the state, Pastor Abraham Osok who reacted to the issue in a telephone conversation stated that even though he has chosen to reserve his comment on certain issues, he remain in charge as NAPPS president.
