Atiku Abubakar, a 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 ₦50,000 exam fee for candidates from the National Examinations Council (NECO) and West African Examinations Council (WAEC) starting in 2027.
According to Atiku, the increases are unjust, 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 dealing with unemployment, stagnant incomes, rising food and transportation costs, electricity tariffs, and inflation.
He cautioned that the actions would push more kids out of school and exacerbate Nigeria’s educational problems.
“A government that truly cares about its citizens’ future does not put up financial obstacles in the way of children’s education.” It gets rid of them,” Atiku remarked.
“Education is the birthright of every Nigerian child and the cornerstone upon which prosperous nations are built; it is not a privilege reserved for the wealthy.”
Nigeria already has one of the highest rates of out-of-school children in the world, according to Atiku, so the policy was especially concerning.
He maintained 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 classrooms.
He stated, “Nigeria already bears the painful distinction of having one of the largest populations of out-of-school children in the world.”
“Between 10.5 million and roughly 15 million Nigerian children and young people are already out of the classroom, depending on the methodology and age group measured.”
Children from low-income and middle-class households, whose parents were already having difficulty meeting their basic necessities, would be disproportionately impacted by the fee increases, according to Atiku.
Every extra expense placed on education, in his opinion, could deprive another child of the chance to learn and better their future.
The ADC presidential candidate cautioned that restricting educational opportunities would have repercussions outside the schools.
According to him, children who are denied an education may be more susceptible to poverty, unemployment, child labor, criminal exploitation, drug usage, and insecurity.
According to Atiku, “every child who is priced out of education today becomes a victim of unemployment, poverty, child labor, criminal exploitation, drug abuse, or insecurity tomorrow.”
“Nations prosper by making education more accessible, not by raising the cost of education.”
The planned ₦50,000 WAEC and NECO fee, he said, could be a barrier that keeps academically capable but impoverished students from advancing to higher education.
He claims that many pupils from low-income families might not be able to compete for admission to universities because their families could not afford the necessary tests.
Additionally, Atiku criticized what he called insufficient funding for Nigeria’s higher education institutions.
He said that public institutions did not have enough lecture rooms, labs, dorms, libraries, or other facilities to handle the volume of applicants each year.
The former vice president asserted that despite over two million applicants, Nigerian colleges could only accept between 500,000 and 700,000 students annually.
He claimed that children from low-income families were being punished twice by the combination of fewer university spots and higher test costs.
According to Atiku, “the outcome is a cruel double punishment: first, millions of qualified young Nigerians cannot secure admission because there are insufficient spaces; second, many will now be priced out of even competing for those limited spaces.”
“That is not educational reform; rather, it is the methodical 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 secondary school diplomas.
He claimed that a youngster who had already been denied admission to secondary school or who was unable to pay WAEC and NECO fees would not benefit 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 solace in a university loan,” he stated.
“A government cannot legitimately claim to be increasing access to higher education while putting up financial obstacles that keep millions of young Nigerians from ever entering a university.”
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According to Atiku, real education reform should start with increased capacity in postsecondary institutions, better infrastructure, and affordability at the basic and secondary levels.
He went on to say that the government ought to make sure that no child’s poverty kept them from going to school.
He declared, “A government that genuinely believes in education invests in classrooms before it invests in loans.”
Atiku requested that President Bola Tinubu immediately undo the proposed ₦50,000 exam fee as well as the increases in Federal Unity College fees.
In order to create sustainable ways to fund public education, he also encouraged the federal government to call an immediate meeting with education stakeholders.
The former vice president advocated for more funding for schools, hiring qualified instructors, upgrading 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 considered a public good under an ADC-led administration.