The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the Federal Government’s proposed N50,000 examination fee for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO), warning that it will deny millions of children from poor and middle-income families access to education.
In a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the proposed fee hike and the recent increase in fees for federal unity colleges as harsh, economically insensitive and inconsistent with the government’s constitutional obligation to make education accessible.
The criticism follows the Federal Government’s approval of a uniform N50,000 registration fee for the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), beginning in 2027. The Ministry of Education said the decision came after WAEC requested an upward review of the examination fee, raising the cost from N27,500 to N50,000.
Atiku argued that the increase comes at a time when Nigerians are struggling with soaring inflation, rising food prices, higher transport costs, increased electricity tariffs and widespread unemployment.
“A government that genuinely believes in the future of its people does not erect financial barriers between children and education. It removes them,” he said.
“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.”
The former vice-president noted that Nigeria already has one of the world’s largest populations of out-of-school children, warning that the higher examination fee would worsen the situation.
According to him, between 10.5 million and 15 million Nigerian children and young people are currently out of school, depending on the methodology used.
He argued that instead of introducing policies that could discourage school enrolment, the government should be investing heavily in bringing children back into classrooms.
Atiku further warned that the consequences of making education more expensive would extend beyond schools, exposing affected children to unemployment, poverty, child labour, criminal exploitation, drug abuse and insecurity.
He also expressed concern that the proposed fee would reduce access to tertiary education, particularly for students from low-income families.
According to him, Nigerian universities currently admit only between 500,000 and 700,000 students each year despite receiving more than two million admission seekers annually.
He said increasing examination fees, alongside higher unity school charges, would further restrict opportunities for academically qualified but financially disadvantaged students.
“Rather than addressing this structural deficit by expanding infrastructure and increasing admission capacity, the government is effectively constricting access even further through higher Unity School fees and the proposed ₦50,000 WAEC and NECO examination fee,” Atiku said.
He described the situation as “a cruel double punishment”, arguing that many students would first miss university admission because of limited spaces and then be unable to afford the examinations needed to compete for those spaces.
Atiku maintained that making education more expensive is not genuine reform but “the systematic rationing of opportunity and the gradual exclusion of the children of the poor from the promise of higher education.”
