Increasing WAEC, NECO fees amid hardship to N50,000 will send many children out of school – Atiku blast FG

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has condemned 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, describing the decision as cruel and economically insensitive.

The Federal Government recently approved an upward review of the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) fee from the current ₦27,500 to ₦50,000, effective from 2027.

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

According to Ibrahim, the minister directed the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) to adopt a uniform fee for the conduct of their SSCE examinations.

Reacting in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the increase was unconscionable at a time when Nigerians were grappling with inflation, soaring food prices, high transportation costs, rising electricity tariffs, stagnant incomes and widespread unemployment.

He argued that the fee hike was inconsistent with the government’s constitutional responsibility to make education accessible to every Nigerian child.

According to Atiku, education remains the greatest instrument of social mobility and the surest pathway out of poverty for millions of children from poor families.

“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,” he said.

The former Vice President noted that Nigeria already has one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children in the world, estimated at between 10.5 million and 15 million, depending on the methodology used.

He warned that increasing fees in Federal Unity Colleges and raising WAEC and NECO examination fees would worsen the situation by forcing more children out of school.

According to him, the policy would disproportionately affect children from poor and middle-income families who are already struggling to meet basic needs.

“The consequences of these policies extend far beyond school gates. Every child priced out of education today becomes tomorrow’s victim of unemployment, poverty, child labour, criminal exploitation, drug abuse or insecurity. Nations do not become prosperous by making education more expensive; they prosper by making education more accessible,” he stated.

Atiku also said the new examination fee would make it more difficult for academically qualified but indigent students to access tertiary education.

He argued that many students would be unable to sit for the examinations required for university admission because of the cost.

The ADC presidential candidate further criticised what he described as contradictions in the Tinubu administration’s education policies, insisting that existing intervention programmes had not addressed the structural barriers limiting access to education.

He maintained that education should never become another avenue through which Nigerians bear the cost of government policy failures.

“No nation has ever taxed its way into educational excellence. Countries that aspire to economic greatness invest more—not less—in education during difficult times because they understand that human capital is the engine of sustainable development. Nigeria cannot build a globally competitive economy while systematically pricing millions of its children out of classrooms,” he said.

Atiku called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately reverse the increase in Unity School fees and the proposed ₦50,000 WAEC and NECO examination fee.

He also urged the Federal Government to convene an urgent stakeholders’ dialogue on sustainable financing for public education, invest more in public schools, strengthen educational infrastructure, recruit more qualified teachers, expand the capacity of tertiary institutions and ensure that no Nigerian child is denied education because of poverty.