Post by Ibadan Watch (@Ibadanwatch)

WAEC, NECO Fee Hike Could Deepen School Dropout Crisis, Atiku Says.

Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has described the recent increase in fees for Federal Unity Colleges and the approval of a uniform ₦50,000 examination fee for WAEC and NECO candidates from 2027 as cruel and economically insensitive.

Daily Trust reports that the Federal Government recently approved an upward review of the fee for Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).

The initial registration fee was N27,500.

In a statement on June 18, Adeniji Ibrahim, Director of Senior Secondary Education in the Ministry of Education, said the decision stemmed from a meeting between examination bodies and the Minister of Education, where the need to review examination fees was discussed.

He said the minister directed WAEC and NECO to adopt a uniform fee for the conduct of their SSCE examinations.

But reacting in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said it is unconscionable that at a time when Nigerian families are battling record inflation, soaring food prices, rising transportation costs, crippling electricity tariffs, stagnant incomes and widespread unemployment, the Tinubu administration chose to make education even more expensive.

He said the upward review was fundamentally incompatible with government’s constitutional responsibility to make education accessible to every Nigerian child.

He noted that education remains the greatest instrument of social mobility and the surest pathway out of poverty for millions of children from humble backgrounds.

According to him, every additional financial burden imposed on parents translates into another child being denied the opportunity to learn, dream and contribute meaningfully to society.

“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.”

“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.”

He warned that increasing fees in Federal Unity Colleges while imposing a significantly higher cost on WAEC and NECO examinations would disproportionately affect children from poor and middle-income families whose parents are already making impossible choices between food, healthcare, transportation and education.

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