GANTA, Nimba – The county education officer of Nimba, Moses S. Dologbay, has encouraged parents and students to continue to register for the WASSCE Exam until the extended deadline of January 30, 2018.

He said the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the West African Examinations Council, has considered the appeal of the parents and students, and extended the registration process on the grounds of being aware of the current economic situation faced by Liberians.

“Education stakeholders and parents [have] been talking to the WAEC office for the extension of the registration period; so, WAEC and WASSCE registration is [being] extended to the 30^th of January,” he said.

Dologbay is calling on parents who have already made payments of their children’s WASSCE fees not to demand a refund. He said the government is exerting all efforts to find funding that will assist parents for the payment of senior students WASSCE fees.

“We received that 200 spaces have been provided for all schools across Liberia to register,” he said. Further, he said that following the inauguration of the new president, “if there will be any assistance by the government to this process, it will be known.”

He said at the moment, there has not been an official statement that the exams would be free. Dologbay’s statements aimed to address reports from parents that unknown individuals had been announcing that the government would take responsibility for paying WASSCE fees this year.

“As we are here, there is no official statement that the WASSCE is free of charge for this year,” he said, “So, we want to urge all of our students who have been jubilating to stop jubilating. Let us wait for an official statement if there will be such assistance to our student community.”

The Nimba education officer noted that although he sympathized with students and parents over the financial constraints they faced, they must take advantage of the time extension to meet up with their payments. He maintained that if any assistance to students became available, students and parents would be informed.

“For now, education is an evidence-based institution,” he said. “I do not have any piece of paper that will reveal to me that WAEC is free. The announcement for WAEC – the announcement for [the] extension – I have copies for all of them, but for WASSCE fee to be free for 12 graders, I do not have any copy.”

Featured photo by Arrington Ballah