Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has denounced Federal Unity Colleges’ fee increases as well as the reported approval of a uniform examination fee of ₦50,000 for candidates from the National Examinations Council (NECO) and West African Examinations Council (WAEC) starting in 2027.
According to Atiku, the increases are harsh, economically insensitive, and at odds with the Federal Government’s duty to ensure that every Nigerian child has access to school.
The former vice president claimed in a statement released on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, that the federal government was placing further financial strain on families already facing unemployment, stagnant incomes, rising food and transportation costs, electricity tariffs, and inflation.
He cautioned that the actions might make more kids drop out of school and exacerbate Nigeria’s educational crisis.
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“A government that truly cares about the future of its citizens does not put financial obstacles in the way of children’s education.” According to Atiku, it eliminates them.
“Every Nigerian child has a birthright to education, which is the cornerstone of prosperous nations and is not a privilege reserved for the wealthy.”
According to Atiku, Nigeria already had one of the highest rates of out-of-school children in the world, therefore the policy was especially concerning.
He contended that rather than enacting laws that could result in more students being excluded, a government confronted with such a problem need to make significant investments in getting kids back into schools.
“Nigeria already bears the painful distinction of having one of the world’s largest populations of children who are not in school,” he stated.
“Between 10.5 million and roughly 15 million Nigerian children and young people are already outside the classroom, depending on the methodology and age group measured.”
According to Atiku, children from low-income and middle-class families whose parents were already having difficulty providing for their basic necessities would be disproportionately impacted by the fee increases.
Every extra expense placed on education, in his opinion, could prevent another child from having the chance to learn and better their future.
The ADC presidential candidate cautioned that restricting access to education would have effects outside of educational institutions.
According to him, children who are denied an education may be more susceptible to unemployment, poverty, child labor, criminal exploitation, drug misuse, and insecurity.
“Every child who is denied an education today becomes a victim of unemployment, poverty, child labor, criminal exploitation, drug abuse, or insecurity tomorrow,” stated Atiku.
“Nations prosper by increasing access to education, not by raising the cost of education.”
The planned ₦50,000 WAEC and NECO fee, according to him, is a barrier that might keep academically capable but impoverished students from advancing to higher education.
He claims that a lot of pupils from low-income families might not be able to compete for university entrance since their family couldn’t afford the required exams.
Additionally, Atiku denounced what he called insufficient funding for Nigeria’s postsecondary institutions.
He said that public institutions did not have enough lecture halls, labs, residence halls, libraries, and other facilities to handle the volume of applicants each year.
Despite over two million applicants, the former vice president asserted that Nigerian colleges could only accept 500,000 to 700,000 students annually.
He claimed that kids from low-income families were being punished twice by the combination of fewer university spots and higher exam fees.
According to Atiku, “the outcome is a cruel double punishment: first, millions of qualified young Nigerians cannot secure admission due to a lack of spaces; second, many will now be priced out of even competing for those limited spaces.”
“That is not educational reform; rather, it is the systematic denial of opportunities and the progressive exclusion of impoverished children from the prospect of higher education.”
Atiku also questioned the Federal Government’s portrayal of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as a significant accomplishment given the rising expense of earning a secondary education.
He claimed that a child who had already been denied admission to secondary school or who was unable to pay WAEC and NECO fees would not profit from a university loan.
“A child who has already been priced out of secondary education or who cannot afford the qualifying exam required to secure admission finds little comfort in a university loan,” he stated.
“A government cannot legitimately claim to be increasing access to higher education while at the same time putting up financial barriers that keep millions of young Nigerians from ever entering a university.”
According to Atiku, real education reform should start with increased capacity in postsecondary institutions, better infrastructure, and affordability at the elementary and secondary levels.
He went on to say that the government ought to make sure that no child’s poverty prevented them from going to school.
“A government that genuinely cares about education prioritizes investments in classrooms over loans,” he stated.
Atiku requested that President Bola Tinubu immediately undo the proposed ₦50,000 examination fee and the increases in Federal Unity College fees.
In order to create sustainable ways of funding public education, he also called on the Federal Government to call an immediate meeting with education stakeholders.
The former vice president advocated for more funding for schools, hiring talented educators, enhancing educational facilities, and increasing tertiary institutions’ admissions capacity.
He claimed that practices that made school unaffordable will be reversed and education would once again be viewed as a public good under an ADC-led administration.
