The Federal Government of Nigeria has mandated the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) that candidates under 18 years old should not be admitted to tertiary institutions.
The Minister of Education, Mr. Tahir Mamman, issued this directive in Abuja on Thursday during the 2024 Policy meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
While the announcement received mixed reactions from vice-chancellors, rectors, and registrars at the meeting, the minister criticized some parents for pressuring their underage children to seek admission into tertiary institutions.
The minister stated that the 18-year benchmark aligns with the 6-3-3-4 system of education.
Professor Mamman also noted that for those unable to gain admission into tertiary institutions, the Ministry of Education is incorporating skills training starting from primary school.
Background
Earlier, the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, criticized the enrollment of young teenagers in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), stating that the federal government may review age requirements for admission into tertiary institutions in the country.
- The Minister stated that 18 years remained the benchmark age for admission into universities and advised parents not to push their underage wards into higher education, especially university education.
- The minister has expressed his dissatisfaction with the age of some candidates applying for the examination, noting that they fall below the appropriate age for university admission.
- The Lagos state government also expressed its support for the federal government’s earlier decision to raise the minimum age requirement for its university admission.
- Speaking to State House Correspondents at the ministerial press briefing in April, the Lagos State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Mr. Tani Sule said,
- “The Lagos State government has expressed support for the federal government’s plan to raise the minimum age requirement for University admission to 18 years.
- “Being 18 years old ensures the necessary physical and mental readiness for higher education. The Lagos State government is committed to enforcing this policy to ensure that university graduates are adequately prepared for the challenges of society post-graduation.”
- “The decision to increase to 18 years I think is well-informed. Looking at all the incidents that are occurring on our campuses now, it is a result of these children being underage, not knowing exactly what they are doing.
- “These young people get so much of negative interventions at school because of their ages too. We discover that most of them are not physically prepared and mature for university education.
- “It’s not about just passing exams; you must be mentally and physically prepared for university education.”
- The Commissioner also revealed that Lagos State has implemented an automated system to ensure seamless implementation. Speaking on this he explained saying,
- “The NIN states your date of birth, and this is inputted in JAMB’s record that is sent to the university. If you are not up to 16, your name will not even fall for the admission process at all. So, there’s no way LASU or any of our universities will admit whoever is below age 16.”