Minister of education says, any principal who did not achieve 50% success in 2017 WAEC and NECO will be sacked

The minister of the Federal Capital Territory Muhammad Bello has read the riot act to principals of all secondary school in the territory.

In his meeting with the principals in Abuja, Bello mandated all schools to attain a 50% success in the African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO) in the next academic year.

Represented by the FCT permanent secretary Babatope Ajakaiye, the minister said, the 30 percent success recorded in 2016 WAEC and NECO in FCT schools is no longer acceptable.



The minister said: “The mandate I will give you that goes with sanction; for this new session, every principal must be determined that for WAEC and NECO in 2017, any principal that does not achieve 50 percent success should just quietly leave that school because the principal is going to be removed.”

He said if students do not attain this pass level the principals will be penalized.

“If you don’t achieve 50 percent success in WAEC and NECO 2017, you are no longer fit to be a principal in FCT and I mean it. That is the minimum that we want for every school and you must work towards it,” Bello said.

Bello further warned that the FCT Administration will no longer accept excuses of poor infrastructure or inadequate teachers.

He said called on all school principals to do all it takes to ensure that the situation is reversed completely.

“We want the success rate to change. That is very important. We cannot be gathering students and at the end of their final year, all they will have is three credits. I don’t know whether you are proud as a principal that in your school, the success rate is five percent,” he said.

Bello also warned principals against charging illegal fees on students especially when provisions have already been made through the FCT Secondary Education Board to run these schools.

He any principal found wanted in such act would be sanctioned by the FCTA.

Bello said: “My mission is not to come and make you sad; but the situation is bad and you know it and we are ready to tackle it. But you must be up and doing too and that is why I said I must call all the principals and talk to you to do the right things.”

“That is what this administration is about. We are ready to put the right things in place. We are ready to work for Nigeria. But we want people that will join us to do this. That is why when you come to FCT today, it is not business as usual and we want to send that message down to our institutions,” he said.

On Wednesday, August 31, the FCT minister announced a change in the resumption date of schools in Abuja.

The minters said the first term would begin on Sunday, September 18 – boarding students – and Monday, September 19 for the day students.

The schools were earlier scheduled to resume on Sunday, September 4 for boarding students and Monday, September 5.