University, NECO, WAEC Age Limit A Stone Age Policy – Atiku To Tinubu Govt

Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has faulted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government’s policy that establishes age restrictions for admission into tertiary institutions.

It could be recalled that the Federal Government has mandated that candidates must be at least 18 years old to gain entry into these institutions.

Education Minister Tahir Mamman has stated that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) have been directed to prevent underage students from taking their examinations.

In response, Atiku, a 2023 presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), took to his X account to describe the policy as archaic.

Atiku characterized the recent directive as nonsensical and detrimental to academic pursuits, further noting that it is regrettable that the Federal Government lacks a strategy to support exceptionally talented students.

Atiku wrote: “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.

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“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.”