Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Mrs Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, has bankrolled the 2021 West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) fees for 800 indigent students in her constituency.
Onyejeocha, representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency, presented the cheques for the payment for the examination to principals of 17 public secondary schools and two mission schools on Saturday at Ngodo Isuochi community in Abia.
The lawmaker said that she was inspired by the declining number of school enrollment and difficulties being faced by many parents to register their children and wards in their final year for WASCE examination.
“I noticed that some indigent students drop out in their final year because their parents or guardians could not raise the money to register them for WASCE examinations.
“This is very common among students in public schools, who come from poor backgrounds. This was the reason I decided to intervene,” she said.
Onyejeocha said that she was highly impressed with the outstanding performances of the first beneficiaries of the free-WASCE initiative in 2020.
She promised to sustain the programme “in and out of office”, hoping that God would continue to give her the enablement.
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Responding on behalf of other principals at the event, the Principal of Nneato Secondary School, Mr John Ihionu, thanked Onyejeocha for the kind gesture.
Ihionu, who described her as “a woman with a large heart and philanthropist par excellence,” also praised God for using her to alleviate the plight of the under-privileged in the society.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the legislator paid N18,950 per student, which included the WASCE fee and other miscellaneous expenses. (NAN)
