By Muhammed Shaeed
August 28th, 2024
Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President, has faulted the Federal Government for the 18-year age limit on NECO and WAEC exams.
Atiku made this known while reacting to the policy of 18-yeae age limit via his verified Facebook page on Wednesday, labelled the policy as controversial and called for universal condemnation from those who value intellectual freedom and accessibility.
He stated: “Tinubu’s policy on age limit for tertiary education admission belongs in the Stone Ages.
“The recent policy of the Federal Ministry of Education pegging age limits for entry to tertiary institutions is an absurdity and a disincentive to scholarship.
“The policy runs foul of the notion of delineation of responsibilities in a federal system of government such as we are practising, 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.”
Recall that the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman had announced a ban on individuals below 18 from participating in the NECO and WAEC exams.
Mamman, while appearing on Channels Television’s ‘ Sunday Politics’ program said that the Federal Government has instructed WAEC and NECO to enforce the 18-year age requirement for candidates taking these exams.