WAEC extortion: Imo parents cry out against principals

Some angry parents and guardians in the state have sent urgent Save Our Souls, SOS, message to the state Gov Owelle Rochas Okorocha begging him to save them from alleged massive extortion by principals of secondary schools in the state in the name of WAEC registration.
The concerned parents who raised the alarm in an exclusive interview with our reporter further posited that they spoke up because the ugly development is antithetical to the free education mantra of the present administration.
Besides, they also opined that this alleged mercantilism is rubbishing the gains the state has so far made in the implementation of the policy stressing many Imolites now believe the hike is government way of making parents pay the school fees which did not pay for their wards when they were in lower classes.
According to the parents some secondary school principals who have turned the registration into money making machine were registering candidates for as high as twenty four thousand naira (N24.000) instead of the official WAEC approved fee of thirteen thousand five hundred naira(N13.500).
The parents who craved anonimity for fear of reprisals listed some of the schools where extortion is rife to include Naze Secondary School, Owerri North LGA and Amala/Ntu Secondary school, Ngor Okpala also in Ngor Okpala where candidates are made to cough out twenty four thousand (N24.000) and twenty thousand five hundred naira (N20.500) in the name of registration.
They further stated that this fees exclude other sundry fees like Parents Teachers Association, PTA, Data Capturing Fee, Email fee amongst several other undefined and non receipted charges.
They, therefore appealed to the government to urgent intervene in the matter and rescue parents from the claws of principals who are bent on skinning them alive in process of the registration.
A WAEC official who spoke on conditions of anonymity because he was authorized to speak to the press buttressed parents claim that WAEC registration is thirteen thousand naira only pointing out however that schools can add a little extra for logistics and runarounds even as he admitted that the alleged figures are way high.
When reached for comments the Public Relations Officer, PRO, Imo State Ministry of Basic Education said he was not in office to be able to make official statement but promised to get back to this reporter as soon as possible.