Federal Government Sets 18 years as the Minimum Age for Entry into Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria.
Follow an insight into the public pronouncement of the minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, and his stance on the minimum age of entry into higher institutions in Nigeria.
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On Thursday 18th July, the minister of education, Tahir Mamman, at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) 2024 policy meeting, announced that the minimum age for admittance of candidates into tertiary institutions will now be 18. This decision was made following the deliberations of stakeholders at the meeting.
Recall that the JAMB policy meeting is conducted annually with attendees including representatives and other stakeholders from various institutions across the country who come together to discuss rules, guidelines, and requirements for tertiary institutions admissions for each year.
This year, a new requirement was announced by the minister for candidates who plan to apply into a tertiary institution. According to him, “They are too young to understand what university education is all about, if they are too young, they won’t be able to manage properly.” Hence, candidates must have attained the age of 18 if they want to attend tertiary institutions as they would have become more matured and able to handle themselves as they embark on their tertiary education phase. Apart from the naivety and immaturity that candidate under the age of 18 may exhibit, the minister, during his speech as well expressed another finding of his. According to the finding, he said ; “Information has revealed that the enrolment of under-age candidate is inflicting serious damage on the university and the education He further announced that the new policy has been accepted by the Federal government and would take effect as of 2025.
When asked what candidates who are not up to the age of 18 but have finished their secondary education should do while being at home, the minister answered that candidates would take up skills.
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However, the decision was not welcomed by the stakeholders as they protested vehemently against it. The policy simply reflects the lack of autonomy that tertiary institutions have, and the constant interference of the federal government. The following events that occurred was the reversal of the policy of which the stakeholders at the meeting influenced. 18 years, according to them is too high to be pegged as the minimum age for admission. Moreso, candidates below the set age have already applied and partaken in the JAMB examinations. Reasoning with the points raised, Mamman reversed the decision and set the minimum age for tertiary institutions applicants, at 16 years- only for the year 2024. In subsequent years however, 18 years would be used as the minimum age for entry into higher institutions in Nigeria.
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