Atiku Slam proposes 50,000 WAEC and NECO fee, warns it will worsen education crisis

Suliat Lawal

Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the federal government’s proposed $50,000 examination fee for candidates sitting the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the National Examinations Council examination, warning that the policy would push millions of children out of school.

Atiku described the planned fee increase as insensitive and anti-poor, saying it would deny children from low- and middle-income families access to education and worsen Nigeria’s already alarming out-of-school child crisis.

The Federal Government had on June 18 approved a uniform examination fee of N50,000 for candidates sitting the WAEC and NECO examinations from 2027, following a request by WAEC for an upward revision of the registration fee from N27,500.

The Ministry of Education said the approval was reached after a meeting between the Ministry of Education and examination bodies, which instructed both WAEC and NECO to adopt a uniform fee structure.

Reacting in a statement released on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the decision came at a time when Nigerians were already grappling with skyrocketing inflation, rising food prices, high transportation costs, rising electricity tariffs and widespread unemployment.

“A government that sincerely believes in the future of its people does not erect financial barriers between children and education. It removes them,” Atiku said.

“Education is not a privilege reserved for the wealthy; it is the birthright of every Nigerian child and the foundation on which prosperous nations are built.”

The former vice president warned that raising exam fees would further worsen Nigeria’s education deficit, pointing out that the country already has one of the largest populations of out-of-school children globally.

According to him, between 10.5 and 15 million Nigerian children and youth are currently out of school, depending on the methodology used.

“Any government facing such a national emergency should invest aggressively in getting these children back to school. Instead, this administration is choosing policies that will inevitably increase these numbers,” he said.

Atiku argued that the proposed tax increase would disproportionately impact poor families, many of whom already struggle to meet basic living expenses.

It warned that denying children access to education could fuel unemployment, poverty, child labour, crime, drug abuse and insecurity.

“The consequences of these policies extend far beyond the school gates. Every child who is excluded from education today becomes a victim of unemployment, poverty, child labor, criminal exploitation, drug abuse or insecurity tomorrow,” he said.

The ADC presidential candidate also argued that the policy will significantly reduce access to tertiary education, pointing out that many bright but deprived students may never have the opportunity to compete for university admission.

He lamented that Nigerian universities currently admit between 500,000 and 700,000 applicants every year, despite receiving over two million admission seekers every year.

According to him, more than one million qualified applicants are denied admission every year due to inadequate admission slots.

He accused the federal government of worsening the situation by increasing fees for Federal Unity Colleges and also proposing a higher cost for WAEC and NECO exams.

“Rather than address this structural deficit by expanding infrastructure and increasing admission capacity, government is actually further restricting access through higher Unity School fees and the proposed WAEC and NECO exam fee of N50,000.

“The result is a cruel double punishment: first, millions of qualified young Nigerians cannot gain admission because there are not enough spaces; second, many will now be excluded from even competing for those limited spaces.

“This is not education reform; it is the systematic rationing of opportunity and the gradual exclusion of the children of the poor from the promise of higher education,” Atiku added.

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