Atiku slams Tinubu over proposed N50,000 WAEC, NECO fee hike, says education becoming privilege for the rich

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the Federal Government’s decision to increase fees in Federal Unity Colleges and the reported approval of a uniform N50,000 examination fee for candidates sitting the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WASSCE, and the National Examinations Council, NECO, examinations from 2027.

In a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Mr Atiku described the development as “cruel, economically insensitive and fundamentally incompatible” with government’s constitutional obligation to make education accessible to every Nigerian child.

He argued that the latest increase comes at a time when millions of Nigerian families are grappling with soaring inflation, rising food prices, high transportation costs, increased electricity tariffs, unemployment and stagnant incomes.

“It is unconscionable that at a time when Nigerian families are battling record inflation, soaring food prices, rising transportation costs, crippling electricity tariffs, stagnant incomes and widespread unemployment, the Tinubu administration has chosen to make education even more expensive,” he said.

According to the former vice president, education remains the most effective tool for social mobility and poverty reduction, warning that additional financial burdens on parents would deny many children the opportunity to acquire education.

“A government that genuinely believes in the future of its people does not erect financial barriers between children and education. It removes them. Education is not a privilege reserved for the wealthy; it is the birthright of every Nigerian child and the foundation upon which prosperous nations are built,” Atiku said.

The ADC presidential candidate expressed concern that the fee increases were being introduced despite Nigeria’s growing out-of-school children crisis.

He noted that between 10.5 million and 15 million Nigerian children and youths are currently out of school, arguing that government should be investing more resources to expand access to education instead of introducing policies that could worsen the situation.

“Nigeria already bears the painful distinction of having one of the largest populations of out-of-school children in the world. Any government confronted with such a national emergency should be investing aggressively to bring these children back into school. Instead, this administration is choosing policies that will inevitably swell those numbers,” he said.

Mr Atiku further warned that higher fees for Federal Unity Colleges and the proposed N50,000 examination charge for WAEC and NECO candidates would disproportionately affect children from poor and middle-income families already struggling to meet basic needs.

“The consequences of these policies extend far beyond school gates. Every child priced out of education today becomes tomorrow’s victim of unemployment, poverty, child labour, criminal exploitation, drug abuse or insecurity. Nations do not become prosperous by making education more expensive; they prosper by making education more accessible,” he added.

The former vice president also argued that the proposed examination fee would create another barrier to tertiary education for thousands of academically qualified but indigent students.

According to him, many candidates may never realise their ambition of attending university because they would be unable to afford the qualifying examinations required for admission.

He also criticised what he described as inadequate investment in the country’s tertiary education infrastructure, saying Nigerian universities currently admit only between 500,000 and 700,000 students annually despite more than two million candidates seeking admission each year.

Rather than expanding lecture theatres, laboratories, hostels and other facilities to increase admission capacity, he said, the government was making access to education even more difficult through higher fees.

Mr Atiku also questioned the administration’s promotion of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, as a major educational reform, arguing that student loans would offer little relief to children who are unable to complete secondary education or sit for qualifying examinations because of rising costs.

“A government cannot credibly claim to be expanding access to higher education while simultaneously erecting financial barriers that prevent millions of young Nigerians from ever reaching the university gates,” he said.

He maintained that genuine education reform should focus on making education affordable at the primary and secondary levels, expanding the carrying capacity of public tertiary institutions and ensuring that poverty does not prevent any Nigerian child from acquiring education.

The former vice president called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately reverse the increase in Unity School fees and the proposed N50,000 WAEC and NECO examination fee, while convening an urgent stakeholders’ meeting to develop sustainable financing for public education.

He also urged the Federal Government to invest more in public schools, improve educational infrastructure, recruit more qualified teachers and expand university admission capacity.

Mr Atiku pledged that an ADC-led administration would reverse policies that, according to him, place education beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians and prioritise expanding access to quality education at all levels.

Editor’s note: The statement refers to a “reported approval” of a uniform N50,000 WAEC and NECO examination fee from 2027. This claim should be independently verified with the Federal Ministry of Education, WAEC, NECO or the relevant government authorities before publication as a confirmed fact.