The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate for 2023, Atiku Abubakar, has blasted a Federal Government policy that set age restrictions for admission to postsecondary schools.
Recall that the Federal Government declared that applicants to postsecondary schools must be at least eighteen years old in order to be admitted.
The National Examinations Council (NECO) and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) have been directed not to permit examinations to be written by minors, according to Education Minister Tahir Mamman.
In response, Atiku claimed on his X that the policy was from the Stone Age.
He claims that the new regulation is ridiculous and discourages scholarship.
The fact that the FG said it had no intention to provide for very talented students, he continued, is disgraceful.
The strategy defies the idea of responsibility delegation in the federal form of government that we currently operate under, and it provides a clear picture of how the Tinubu administration acts like a lost sailor at sea. Otherwise, given the plethora of problems plaguing our educational system, how is an anti-scholarship policy like this the next logical step?
“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.”
