What will you do about the HND-degree dichotomy, and what are your broader plans for education and youth?

I don't have a specific plan laid out on the HND and university degree dichotomy. What I can tell you is what I'm committed to on education more broadly, and I hope you'll see in it the direction I intend to take things.

I want to change how we prepare young Nigerians for work. Our schools, whether universities, polytechnics or colleges, must place greater emphasis on science, technology, vocational education, agriculture, digital skills, critical thinking and entrepreneurship. We cannot continue educating young Nigerians for an economy that no longer exists.

No brilliant Nigerian child should be denied university, polytechnic or college education simply because his or her parents are poor. That applies across the board, whichever of these institutions a young person attends.

On the cost of education, I believe it should not begin with a mountain of debt hanging over a young Nigerian's future. My approach will reduce the underlying cost of education and, after review, provide forgiveness for qualifying student debts, so young Nigerians can graduate with hope rather than repayment burdens. A student loan is not a scholarship, it is a liability, and the proper test of any education policy is whether ordinary families can educate their children without being pushed into debt just to keep them in school.

Beyond the classroom, I am committed to expanding transparent access to finance for young entrepreneurs, artisans, farmers, technology founders and people in the creative economy, through a major financing programme for start-ups and entrepreneurs. Your surname, political connection or ability to find a godfather should not determine whether your idea gets a chance to succeed. I see young Nigerians, whatever certificate they hold, as the greatest national asset Nigeria has ever produced, and I believe no President can rebuild Nigeria without their active participation.

Where this comes from

Post on X Post by @atiku on X · https://x.com/atiku/status/1828721506119041048 2024-08-28 ›

Tinubu’s policy on age limit for tertiary education admission belongs in the Stone Ages. The recent policy of the Federal Ministry of Education pegging age limits for entry to tertiary institutions is an absurdity and a disincentive to scholarship. The policy runs foul of the notion of delineation of responsibilities in a federal system of government such as we are pratising, 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.

Thread on X Thread by @atiku on X · https://x.com/atiku/status/2059769890932940875 2026-05-27 ›

An ADC government under my leadership will take decisive action to address insecurity and protect lives and property in the country. We shall strengthen the armed forces, the police and other security agencies with massive new recruitment, provision of modern and adequate equipment, training, improved welfare and effective leadership. We shall also ensure accountability and proper coordination and intelligence sharing among all our security agencies. It is obvious to us in the ADC that we can only secure our country long-term if we educate our young people and create an economy in which they and their families can thrive and help to change Nigeria and the world for the better. Education Under the watch of this APC government over 20 million of our school-age children are not in school. This cannot be tolerated in the modern world where education is the surest path to descent employment, wealth creation, national development and enlightened citizenry. We will, therefore, implement free and compulsory education at the primary and secondary levels and invest in leadership, entrepreneurial, technological and innovation skills amongst our teeming youth.

Article on X Article by @atiku on X · https://x.com/atiku/status/2087552029358956958 2026-08-12 ›

Nigeria cannot continue asking competent young people to wait outside the room while their future is being decided inside it. MY COVENANT WITH YOU Our partnership must also mean something practical in the lives of young Nigerians. It begins with jobs and enterprise. Nigeria has millions of young people with ideas, energy and ambition, but too many cannot access the capital required to turn those ideas into businesses. We will expand transparent access to finance for young entrepreneurs, artisans, farmers, technology founders and people working in the creative economy. Your surname, political connection or ability to find a godfather should not determine whether a good idea receives an opportunity to succeed. Education must also change. We cannot continue educating young Nigerians for an economy that no longer exists. Our schools must place greater emphasis on science, technology, vocational education, agriculture, digital skills, critical thinking and entrepreneurship. And no brilliant Nigerian child should be denied tertiary education simply because his or her parents are poor.

Article on X Article by @atiku on X · https://x.com/atiku/status/2094810791937446399 2026-09-01 ›

The good news for Nigerian students is that Atiku has reviewed the current student-loan policy and believes education should not begin with a mountain of debt hanging over a young Nigerian’s future. His approach will reduce the underlying cost of education and, after review, provide forgiveness for qualifying student debts so that young Nigerians can graduate with hope rather than repayment burdens. Education should open doors, not mortgage the future. A student loan is not a scholarship. It is a liability. The proper test of an education policy is whether ordinary families can educate their children without being pushed into debt merely to keep them in school. When students increasingly require loans because the underlying cost of education has become prohibitive, government should not parade the loan itself as evidence that the system is working. And your attempt to frighten students and workers by claiming that Atiku’s targeted and capped production support will somehow destroy NELFUND, reduce salaries or reverse the minimum wage is a fallacious claim without a ledger behind it. If your government has the arithmetic, Bola, publish it. Show Nigerians, line by line, how a transparently budgeted subsidy tied to Nigerian crude and domestic refining suddenly empties NELFUND or workers’ pay packets.

p. 1 CANDIDATE-APPROVED ANSWER Candidate-approved answer 2026-10-10 ›

Help every eligible young Nigerian o…" • Post by @atiku on X · https://x.com/atiku/status/2093800029618061431, 2026-08-29 (Post on X) "Nigeria's young people do not need a government that teaches them how to survive hardship. They need a government that gives them the opportunity to prosper.…" • Post by @atiku on X · https://x.com/atiku/status/2093757421403427170, 2026-08-29 (Post on X) "Nigeria's young people do not need a government that teaches them how to survive hardship. They need a government that gives them the opportunity to prosper.…" • Post by @atiku on X · https://x.com/atiku/status/1690478288802545664, 2023-08-12 (Post on X) "On this International Youth Day 2023, we recognise the immense potential of young minds, especially in Nigeria. Their commitment to acquiring green skills no…"

p. 1 CANDIDATE-APPROVED ANSWER Candidate-approved answer 2026-10-16 ›

On jobs, skills and enterprise, I see millions of young Nigerians with ideas, energy and ambition, but too many cannot access the capital to turn those ideas into businesses. I am committed to expanding transparent access to finance for young entrepreneurs, artisans, farmers, technology founders and people in the creative economy, so that your surname, political connection or ability to find a godfather does not determine whether your idea gets a chance to succeed. This includes a major financing programme for start-ups and entrepreneurs. Our objective is to move young Nigerians from dependence to enterprise, from unemployment to productivity, and from palliatives to prosperity. On education, I want to change how we prepare young Nigerians for work. Our schools must place greater emphasis on science, technology, vocational education, agriculture, digital skills, critical thinking and entrepreneurship. No brilliant Nigerian child should be denied university, polytechnic or college education simply because his or her parents are poor. I see young Nigerians as the greatest national asset Nigeria has ever produced, innovators, farmers, engineers, doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs and artisans, and I believe no President can rebuild Nigeria without their active participation.

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What will you do about the HND-degree dichotomy, and what are your broader plans for education and youth?

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