The Niger State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Susan Gana, has said that 17, 550 senior secondary school students in the state have failed their 2011/2012 promotion examinations.
Gana, who revealed this at a press briefing in Minna on Saturday, said that those affected had been demoted.
According to her, 57, 510 students were registered for the promotion examination out of which 39, 959 passed.
The commissioner explained that government had taken special interest in the conduct of internal promotion examination to ensure that only those who passed were promoted.
She said the state government had paid N440.4 million for its students who sat for WAEC and NECO last year to complement efforts of parents, who also paid N191.6 million for their wards.
Gana however said that the government had changed its policy of paying for candidates sitting for WAEC and NECO after realising that parents were not monitoring their wards, “while the candidates are nonchalant because government is footing the bill’’.