Weeks after adjusting the admission age into varsities, the Federal Government has stopped students under 18years old from seating for terminal examinations from secondary schools.
According to the government, these students will no longer be allowed to take the “West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE)” and the “Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE)”.
Minister of Education Tahir Mamman announced this on a TV show, saying the government has told the “West African Examinations Council (WAEC)” and the “National Examinations Council (NECO)” to follow this rule.
He also said the age limit for university admission is still 18.
Mamman explained, “It is 18 (years). What we did at the meeting that we had with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (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 university in Nigeria meets the required age which is 18.”
He also said, “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 new policy contrary to what some people are saying; we are just simply reminding people of what is existing.”
Mamman also gave a breakdown of the expected number of years students should spend in school, from early childhood education to senior secondary school, which is 17 and a half years.
He said, “In any case, NECO and WAEC, henceforth will not be allowing underage children to write their examinations.”
When asked about exceptional students, Mamman said their cases would be considered, but noted that special considerations are often abused in Nigeria.
