Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the federal government’s recent policy of setting the age limit for entry into tertiary institutions at 18.
In a recent interview, the minister of education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, reiterated that 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.
This is just as the government has barred individuals under the age of 18 from taking part in the National Examinations Council (NECO) and West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exams.
However, yesterday, Atiku, on his official Facebook handle, described the policy as absurd and disincentive to scholarship.
He said the policy gives a graphic impression of how President Tinubu’s government behaves like a lost sailor on a high sea.
“The policy runs afoul 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 embarrasses the body of intellectuals in the country because it portrays Nigeria as a country where talented students are not appreciated.
“The irony here is that should the federal government play any role in education, it is to set up mechanisms to identify and grant scholarships to gifted students, not minding their ages before applying to tertiary institutions.
“This controversial policy belongs in the Stone Ages and should be roundly condemned by everyone who believes in intellectual freedom and accessibility,” he added.