Atiku Blasts Tinubu Govt’s Age Restriction on Tertiary Admissions, Calls It Absurd, Anti-Scholarship, and Stone Age Policy

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the federal government’s directive that admission to tertiary institutions should not be given to candidates below 18 years. He stated that the policy is absurd and a disincentive to scholarship and belonged to the Stone Age.

Atiku who said this on his X account on Tuesday described the President Bola Tinubu-led government as behaving like a lost sailor on a high sea. He argued that the policy contradicts the principles of a federal system of government, where education is a shared responsibility.

In his words:

The policy runs foul of the notion of delineation of responsibilities in a federal system of government such as we are practising, 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,” Atiku stated.

He criticised the federal government for not considering specially gifted students in this policy, calling it an embarrassment to the nation’s intellectual community.

 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,” he said.

“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.”

Atiku’s statement comes after the Nigerian Union of Teachers condemned the policy as poorly conceived.

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