The Federal Government’s decision to ban under-18 candidates from sitting for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the National Examination Council has sparked mixed reactions.
The Federal Government introduced the 6-3-3-4 system of education in 1983 with the primary focus of meeting the educational needs of its citizenry and equipping the youths with sellable skills that would make them self-reliant.
More than two decades later, a modified system, Universal Basic Education (UBE), also known as the 9-3-4, was introduced, with a curriculum expected to meet global best practices.
Experts have, however, observed that the implementation of the education policies led to the menace of admitting underage children into secondary schools.
The trend of parents pushing their children to finish their education at a very tender age has become alarming.
It has been observed that parents encourage their children to skip primary five and six and “jump” into Junior Secondary School. At the end of secondary school, a Nigerian is expected to be about 18 years old, but many students often graduate at 16 or less due to skipped grades.
Read Also: Nigeria needs effective leadership to address unhealthy inter-ethnic relations, says University Don
This is also applicable to Senior Secondary schools as some parents push their children into taking the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) while in SS 2.
This development has led to many students graduating from secondary schools at ages 14, 15 and 16, and getting admission into tertiary institutions in the country.
The consequence is that younger, immature candidates who ought to be in the controlled space of their parents find themselves unrestrained in a tertiary school environment.
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, announced on Channels Television’s ‘Sunday Politics’ programme that the Federal Government had instituted a new age policy for secondary school leaving examinations, setting the minimum age at 18.
This means underage candidates will no longer be allowed to sit for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the Senior School Certificate Examination, both crucial for advancing to tertiary education.
The directive also affects the West African Examinations Council, which administers the WASSCE, and the National Examinations Council responsible for the SSCE.
Since the pronouncement, the minister has received both hail and knock.
Mamman confirmed that the age limit to undertake the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, overseen by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, will also be 18.
He added that this was not a new policy.
“For the avoidance of doubt, this is not a new policy; this is a policy that has been there for a long time,” Mamman stated.
Last month, Mamman, in a meeting with JAMB and other education stakeholders, insisted that the UTME should be set at 18 years.
Mamman stated: “JAMB is hereby notified that there is now a ban on underage students, those under the age of 18, from our tertiary institutions for the 2024 admissions… It doesn’t require a statement of the minister… we are only restating what is in the law.”
However, the law sparked criticisms, particularly from university stakeholders, as many of those categorised as underage candidates had already taken the UTME without anticipating the directive. This posed a threat to potential 16 and 17-year-olds, who had already passed the UTME and were seeking admission into universities.
Following the disapproval, the minister reversed the directive, allowing candidates from 16 years to be admitted into the university as it previously stood until 2025.
However, following Sunday’s pronouncement, Mamman insisted that there was no going back on the policy.
The National President, Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, maintained that ASUU had not yet discussed the matter, but stated on a personal note that children should follow the standard academic progression: six years in primary school, six years in secondary school, and then move on to university at the age of 18.
Also, Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar berated the Federal Ministry of Education over the policy.
He wondered how such anti-scholarship regulation was the next logical step in the myriad of issues besetting Nigeria’s educational system.