The Minister of Education, Professor Mamman Tahir, recently declared that, beginning from this year, students who are yet to attain the age of 18 will not be allowed to sit for the West African School Certificate (WASC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) examinations. This led to discordant tunes among educational stakeholders. Government’s insistence on the 18-year limit, according to Tahir, was hinged on the need to return to the old policy that clearly spells out 18 as the age-limit for admissions into tertiary institutions.
In explaining the process that led to the 18-year requirement for admissions into tertiary schools, Tahir noted, “What we did at the meeting that we had with JAMB (in July) was to allow this year and for it to serve as a kind of notice for parents that this year, JAMB will admit students who are below that age. But, from next year, JAMB is going to insist that anybody applying to go to the 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.
“So, we are not coming up with a new policy, contrary to what some people are saying; we are just simply reminding people of what is existing. In any case, NECO and WAEC, henceforth, will not be allowing underage children to write their examinations. In other words, if somebody has not spent the requisite number of years in that particular level of study, WAEC and NECO will not allow them to write the examination.”
The Secretary General of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Dr Mike Ene, has expressed displeasure of the teacher union on the ban clamped on tertiary admissions for students yet to attain the age-limit of 18. The union’s scribe declared that the issue was never discussed by the National Council on Education. According to him, ‘’They cannot just wake up and make such a decision. They must consult widely on it. I am a member of the National Council on Education (NCE), and we held a meeting in Lagos early this year. I am not sure such a matter was discussed. It is decisions taken at such a meeting that should be pursued”.
For the minister of Eeducation not to refer the matter to the NCE, which comprises the ministers, commissioners for education in all states, the NUT, bodies such as WAEC, NECO, JAMB, UBEC, among others, many stakeholders are viewing the ban as inscrutable and not in the interest of the education sector. The ban as directed by the minister is brewing anger among critical stakeholders, with the National Parents/Teachers’ Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) threatening to commence legal fireworks if the 18-year admission requirement is not withdrawn by the government.
Without disputation, the age policy for tertiary admissions has always been in existence, but such policy has suffered serial violations for several decades, with little or no efforts by previous administrations to enforce the age policy. Now that the present government has seen the need to review past aberrations of the policy, it is only fair to seek engagements with critical participants in order to understand the matter and formulate templates for the enforcement of the age policy.
Awarding a one-year grace period to revert to the existing policy is not only inadequate, but also a punishment for youths who are less than 18 years, but have demonstrated unequalled educational dexterity. To punish students for no fault of theirs is akin to unleashing injustice on them over a policy that has been considered long dead. The 18-year admission policy for tertiary admissions is no longer tenable, as even the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), since its inception in 1978, has always maintained its position that applicants for tertiary institutions must be 16-year-old at the time of admission. In the current situation where most students complete their secondary school education at 16, insisting that they must be 18 year-old is neither in their own interest nor that of the nation.
Blueprint calls on the federal government to immediately overturn its decision banning students who are less than 18 years from sitting WASC and NECO examinations. There is a need for a holistic review of challenges confronting the education sector. We recommend the granting of, at least, a four-year grace period before full reversal to the age-limit policy. The government should not be primarily concerned with having secondary students graduate at 18; but should be fully prepared to confront the myriads of problems plaguing tertiary studies, especially incessant strikes by teachers that have often led to elongation of study durations. The 18-year requirement for admissions into tertiary schools is the least of problems confronting Nigeria’s education sector.
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