Under 18s limit for university, WAEC, NECO stone age policy – Atiku

Atiku Abubakar, 2023 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has criticized the Federal Government policy which pegged age limits for entry to tertiary institutions.

Recall that the Federal Government he announced that candidates must be 18 years old before they are admitted into tertiary institutions.

Education Minister Tahir Mamman said that the West African Examinations Council, WAEC, and the National Examinations Council, NECO, has been instructed not to allow underage children to write their examinations.

Reacting, Atiku on his X said the policy belongs to the Stone ages.

According to him, the recent policy is an absurdity and a disincentive to scholarship.

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He added that it is embarrassing that the FG said it had no plan to cater for specially gifted pupils.

“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?

“To be clear, the Nigerian constitution puts education in the concurrent list of schedules, in which the sub-national government enjoys more roles above the federal government.

“Therefore, it is extra-constitutional for the federal government to legislate on education in a manner similar to a decree.

“The best global standard for such regulation is to allow the sub-national governments to make respective laws or rules on education.

“It is discouraging that even while announcing this obnoxious policy, the government inadvertently said it had no plan to cater for specially gifted pupils.

“That statement is an embarrassment to the body of intellectuals in the country because it portrays Nigeria as a country where gifted students are not appreciated.

“The irony here is that should the federal government play any role in education, it is to set up mechanisms that will identify and grant scholarships to gifted students not minding their ages before applying for admission into tertiary institutions.

“This controversial policy belongs in the Stone Ages and should be roundly condemned by everyone who believes in intellectual freedom and accessibility.”