Atiku to FG: Age-gating tertiary institution admission is disincentive to education

Former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, has faulted the policy setting 18 years as the minimum age for admission into tertiary institutions.

In a statement yesterday, Abubakar, who was a 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said the policy belongs in the stone age.

In July, the Federal Government adopted 18 as the minimum age for university, polytechnic, and college of education admissions.

On Sunday, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, said the Federal Government had given directives to both the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) to stop those below 18 years from writing their examinations.

The policy has elicited mixed reactions as some parents have rejected it.

Atiku described the policy as an absurdity and a disincentive to scholarship.

The former vice-president said it contravened the notion of ‘delineation of responsibilities’ in federalism.

“The Nigerian constitution puts education in the concurrent list of schedules, in which the sub-national government enjoys more roles above the Federal Government.

“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.

“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.”

Reacting, a university lecturer, Dr Stella Aririguzuh, said banning under-18 students from sitting for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) would lead to capital flight.

Aririguzuh, Head of Mass Communication Department, Covenant University, Ota, in Ogun State, said the proposed policy would force Nigerians to send their children to overseas countries for further studies. “More parents will send their children to schools outside Nigeria, further depleting our resources.”

Aririguzuh explained that the policy would kill the zeal of students to push themselves to achieve more in their younger days.

However, former national president of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA), Gabriel Nnaji, said he was in support of the decision of the Federal Government on the age limit, adding that it was clearly captured in the education policy of the country.

“In my opinion, I see no fault with the decision of the Federal Government to restrict WAEC and NECO, and even UTME to children from 18 years. I have observed that many parents are pushing their children out of their homes to school faster than it should be. That shouldn’t be.

“Children should rather spend more time with their parents at home so they can build strong traits that would help them be useful to society.

“Some of these children are lacking in emotional, physical, mental and even spiritual balance to be in the university, hence they struggle to find their fitting in such an environment which is increasingly becoming too hostile for such unprepared children.

“I understand the fact that parents want their children off the school as early as possible so they can start their life, but that should be done with caution because it seems we are doing more harm than good to the children.”