Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly criticised the Federal Government’s recent policy, which sets age limits for entry into tertiary institutions.
The policy bars individuals under 18 from participating in National Examinations Council (NECO) and West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exams.
Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, had declared in an interview with Channels Television that the age limit for candidates sitting for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), remains 18 years.
In response, Atiku took to his X handle on Wednesday, labelling the policy as “absurd” and a “disincentive to scholarship.”
He said, “The policy runs foul of the notion of delineation of responsibilities in a federal system of government such as we are practicing, and gives a graphic impression of how the Tinubu government behaves like a lost sailor on a high sea. Otherwise, how is such anti-scholarship regulation the next logical step in the myriad of issues besetting our educational system?”
Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, argued that education is on the concurrent list in Nigeria’s constitution, meaning sub-national governments have more roles than the federal government.
He condemned the policy as “extra-constitutional” and likened it to a decree, asserting that it should be the prerogative of state governments to set such regulations.
Atiku further criticised the government for not having plans to cater to gifted students, calling the lack of such provisions “an embarrassment to the body of intellectuals in the country.”
He stressed that the federal government’s role should be to identify and support gifted students, regardless of age.
“This controversial policy belongs in the Stone Ages and should be roundly condemned by everyone who believes in intellectual freedom and accessibility,” Atiku added.
