Atiku Taunts Tinubu’s Govt, Says It’s A Lost Sailor On High Sea
BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has again slammed the Federal Government over the recent policy pegging age limits for students’ entry into tertiary institutions in the country.
In a post on his X handle on Wednesday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2023 presidential election described the policy as absurd and disincentive to scholarship.
According to him, the policy “gives a graphic impression of how Tinubu government behaves like a lost sailor on a high sea.”
The Waziri Adamawa described the policy as belonging to the Stone Ages which should be condemned by everyone who believes in intellectual freedom and accessibility.
The PDP Chieftain said; “The policy runs foul of the notion of delineation of responsibilities in a federal system of government such as we are practicing, and gives a graphic impression of how the Tinubu government behaves like a lost sailor on a high sea. Otherwise, how is such anti-scholarship regulation the next logical step in the myriad of issues besetting our educational system?
“To be clear, the Nigerian constitution puts education in the concurrent list of schedules, in which the sub-national government enjoys more roles above the federal government.
“Therefore, 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. That statement is an embarrassment to the body of intellectuals in the country because it portrays Nigeria as a country where gifted students are not appreciated.
“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 and accessibility.”
Recently, the Federal Government barred individuals under the age of 18 from taking part in the National Examinations Council (NECO) and West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exams.
Speaking in a Channels Television interview, Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, said the age limit for candidates sitting for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), administered by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), remains 18 years.
In declaring that candidates under 18 will no longer be permitted to take the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination beginning next year, the Minister said it was in line with the minimum required for admission is 18 years according to the country’s education policy
However, he stated that the federal government has decided to allow students to take the JAMB examination this year as a form of advance notice to parents for the changes that will take effect next year.
The Minister said; “Nothing has changed. It is still 18 years old. What we did at the JAMB meeting was to allow this year and for it to serve as a kind of notice for parents that, this year JAMB will admit students below 18 years. But from next year, JAMB will insist anybody going to apply to a university in Nigeria meets the required age which is 18.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, this is not a new policy. This is a policy that has been there for a long time. And, if you compute the number of years learners are supposed to be in school, the number you end up with is 17 and a half. From daycare to primary school, then secondary school, you will end up with 17 and a half. And by the time, the school Is ready for admission, you have the age”, Prof Mamman said.
