By Ogalah Ibrahim

The Katsina State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Hajiya Zainab Musawa has disclosed that the state government invested N514,105,250 to support students’ participation in the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and other external exams in 2024.

She said N450,117,000 was paid for 11,671 students to register for the West African Examination Council (WAEC) exams while N63,988,250.00 was paid for 3,110 students to sit for the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) exams. This Musawa stated is in addition to the 60,351 candidates who sat for NECO exam in Katsina State, and 452 candidates who sat for NABTEB in 2024.

Musawa disclosed this during a press briefing on Tuesday to address recent media reports that portrayed the state’s performance in the 2024 National Examinations Council (NECO) results negatively.

While acknowledging the need for improvement in the students’ performance in the 2024 NECO exams, Musawa revealed that Katsina State ranked sixth nationally in the number of students who passed the exam with five credits and above, including Mathematics and English.

“This is a staggering achievement, with 29,633 students meeting this critical benchmark—more than in at least 30 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja,” Musawa said.

Comparatively, she revealed that this figure represents a significant increase from the 25,152 candidates who met the same benchmark in 2023, reflecting a remarkable growth of approximately 17.8%. The Education Commissioner attributed this achievement to the state’s proactive measures to improve education quality, such as teacher recruitment, training, and infrastructure development.

Furthermore, Musawa pinpointed that the media reports also overlooked the commendable performance of male candidates in the 2024 NECO examination and the substantial number of students mobilised and sponsored by the Katsina State Government.

The Education Commissioner commended Governor Dikko Umar Radda for driving these positive changes, with initiatives such as the largest teacher recruitment drive in the state’s history and increased funding for education.

While acknowledging that challenges remain, Musawa expressed optimism about the future of education in Katsina State, citing the ongoing reforms and the unwavering commitment of the Radda-led government to providing quality education to all students.