The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has urged the Federal Government to suspend the recent policy by the federal ministry of education to peg the minimum age requirement for enrollment for senior secondary school examination at 18 years.

The association described the policy as limiting, backward and said it is capable of short-changing students and their parents.

Addressing journalists at the end of a meeting of principal officers of the association in Abuja, the SSANU President Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim, urged federal government to step the decision down and make further consultations on the matter in order to avoid a crisis in the education sector.

The condemnation of the policy by SSANU adds to the concerns earlier raised by some stakeholders since the policy was made public by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, last week.

The Minister, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, had said that individuals under 18 years would no longer be allowed to take part in National Examinations Council and West African Examinations Council exams.

According to Mamman, the Federal Government has directed WAEC and NECO to enforce the 18-year age requirements for candidates seeking to take their exams.