Atiku Condemns Hike in Unity Schools, WAEC, NECO Fees

The 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 N50,000 examination fee for candidates sitting the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) Senior School Certificate Examinations from 2027.

Atiku described the fee increases as cruel, economically insensitive and detrimental to access to education.

The Federal Government recently approved an increase in the examination fee from N27,500 to N50,000 for candidates sitting the Senior School Certificate Examinations conducted by WAEC and NECO.

The approval was conveyed in a memo dated June 18, 2026, signed by the Director of Senior Secondary Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Adeniji Ibrahim, on behalf of the Minister of Education.

Reacting in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said it was unconscionable for the government to increase the cost of education at a time many Nigerians were grappling with economic hardship.

“A government that genuinely believes in the future of its people does not erect financial barriers between children and education. It removes them,” the statement read.

According to the former vice president, education is a fundamental right and not a privilege reserved for the wealthy.

“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.

Atiku noted that Nigeria already has one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children globally, warning that the new fees could worsen the situation by making education less accessible to children from low-income families.

He argued that the policy would also limit access to tertiary education for many academically qualified students who may be unable to afford the qualifying examinations.

“For many children from low-income families, the journey to university does not end at the admission gate; it is terminated long before then by the inability to afford the qualifying examinations that determine their future,” the statement added.

The ADC presidential candidate maintained that countries seeking sustainable economic growth invest more in education during difficult economic periods rather than increasing financial burdens on students and their families.

He warned that Nigeria could not build a globally competitive economy while pricing millions of children out of classrooms through higher education costs.