Benue State Takes Action Against Illegal Exam Fees and Miracle Centres

The Benue State Education Quality Assurance and Examinations Board (BEQAEB) has officially put an end to the practice of charging unauthorized examination fees and shutting down miracle centres within the state.

On Friday, the Board reaffirmed that its regulatory measures and enforcement actions are strictly based on legal grounds.

Dr. Terna Francis, the Executive Secretary of BEQAEB, provided insights during a meeting with members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Makurdi. He emphasized that the Board's responsibilities include reform initiatives and enforcement strategies applicable to both public and private educational institutions.

Francis indicated that BEQAEB has been intentionally strengthened and made independent from the Ministry of Education as part of the state government’s efforts to enhance quality assurance in education. This separation aims to implement a more rigorous and effective system for maintaining minimum educational standards across schools.

He cited the enabling legislation that empowers the Board to inspect, monitor, regulate, accredit, and impose sanctions on schools, acknowledging that resistance may be anticipated from some school proprietors when regulations are enforced.

Recent objections from private school operators arose after BEQAEB scrutinized what he termed “excessive and illegal charges.” For instance, some schools were reportedly demanding as much as N35,000 for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), whereas the authorized fee is N10,250. Similarly, charges for the WAEC examinations, which officially stand at N27,500, were inflated to between N70,000 and N100,000.

Francis stated, "These practices will no longer be tolerated."

Moreover, he pointed out that only fees outlined in the Revenue Administration Law and the 2026 budget estimates, such as levies for Quality Control, Workshop, Sports, and ICT Development, are permissible for collection by the Board.

In addition, the introduction of an electronic dossier (e-Dossier) system is expected to effectively eliminate the existence of miracle centres.

This digital solution is designed to replace manual record-keeping and enable the real-time updating of continuous assessment and examination results, which will inhibit students from migrating to schools right before external exams.

"With the e-Dossier, every student's academic history is linked to a specific school. Any unusual transfers will be promptly flagged, preventing the registration of such candidates," he explained.

Francis noted that this new system would also resolve delays in result dissemination, an issue he attributed to poor planning and oversight by some school heads following the merger of examination bodies.

Furthermore, he announced that results from the BECE and Mock-SSCE, conducted in the third term, will henceforth be swiftly released and will serve as legal grounds for student promotion to SS1 and SS3, in accordance with established regulations.