The Ebonyi State Government has warned school authorities in the state against the collection of unapproved fees for examinations conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO).

The State Commissioner for Education, Onyebuchi Chima, gave the warning on Wednesday in Abakaliki, at a meeting with school proprietors and principals.

He warned that any school caught engaging in examination malpractices and charging students above the stipulated fee of N16,600 and N12,500 for WAEC and NECO SSCE respectively, would be de-registered by the state government.

In the meeting attended by members and executives of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), and leaders of schools owned by religious organizations, the commissioner queried the situation where some private schools charged each student as much as N106,000 for WAEC SSCE.

Speaking during the meeting, the South-east zone president of NAPPS, Onyeoma Agbo, commended the state government for ensuring quality education but appealed for the government's assistance to enable students in the crisis-ridden Ezza-Effium area to register for WAEC and NECO examinations.