The Lagos State Government has warned school and government officials against collecting any form of payment such as examination fee from pupils.
This is just as the government called on parents of Junior Secondary School 3 pupils who will sit for the Basic Education Certificate Examination in the state not to pay any fee relating to the examination.
Stating that the examination fees had been fully paid by the government, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mrs Adebunmi Adekanye, warned public officials to desist from extorting money from parents under any guise.
In a statement on Thursday, the state government said there was free education policy in place in the state, noting that fees for examinations such as the BECE and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination were fully paid for by the government.
“The gesture is to relieve parents of the burden of such fees, as well as create equal opportunities for all qualified students to take the examinations, irrespective of the circumstances of their birth or the financial status of their parents,” the statement said.