The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said the federal government’s proposed N50,000 fee for Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) will deny children from poor and middle-income families access to education.
Atiku also criticised the recent increase in fees for federal unity colleges, describing the government’s education policies as “cruel”, economically insensitive and inconsistent with its constitutional responsibility to make education accessible.
In a statement issued on Sunday by Phrank Shaibu, his senior special assistant on public communication, Atiku said the fee increase comes at a time when Nigerians are battling inflation, rising food prices, transportation costs, electricity tariffs and unemployment.
The former vice president said “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.”
He added “Nigeria already bears the painful distinction of having one of the largest populations of out-of-school children in the world. Depending on the methodology and age group measured, between 10.5 million and about 15 million Nigerian children and young people are already outside the classroom. 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.”
“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,” he said.
On June 18, the federal government approved N50,000 as the new examination fee for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) candidates from 2027.
The ministry of education said the approval followed a request by WAEC for an upward review of the SSCE fee, increasing the registration cost from N27,500 to N50,000.
