Former VP Warns: N50,000 Exam Fees, Unity School Hike Are “Cruelty Disguised as Policy”
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has launched a blistering attack on President Bola Tinubu’s administration, condemning the skyrocketing cost of public education as “economically insensitive” and a “ticking time bomb” for Nigeria’s already staggering out-of-school crisis.
With Nigeria already home to 10.5 to 15 million out-of-school children one of the world’s worst records Atiku warned that the new N50,000 WAEC and NECO fees and Federal Unity College hikes will “inevitably swell those numbers” and push millions more families to the breaking point.
“A Loan Won’t Feed a Hungry Child”
Atiku called out the government’s reliance on the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), saying: “A university loan offers little comfort to a child already priced out of secondary school.”
He accused the administration of “erecting financial barriers” while pretending to expand access, adding: “No nation has ever taxed its way into educational excellence. Countries that aspire to greatness invest more not less in education during difficult times.”
“Cruel, Punitive, and Unconscionable”
The ADC presidential candidate didn’t hold back:
· “Every additional financial burden translates into another child denied the chance to learn, dream, and contribute.”
· “This administration is choosing policies that punish children not uplift them.”
· “Poverty must NEVER be the reason a child is denied an education.”
Atiku’s Demand to Tinubu:
. REVERSE the Unity School fees increase immediately. .SCRAP the N50,000 WAEC/NECO fee hike
. CONVENE urgent stakeholder talks on sustainable education financing
His Pledge:
“By God’s grace, Nigerians will reject these punitive policies. An ADC-led government will restore education as a public good — not a privilege for the rich.”
BOTTOM LINE:
“This government cannot claim to fight poverty while making poverty the price of learning.”
