From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Federal Government has disclosed plans to introduce a new secondary school curriculum in September.
Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, in his opening remarks at the 2024 Policy Meeting organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to herald the commencement of the 2024 admission year in Abuja, yesterday, said a stakeholders meeting will be held on August 6 to discuss the matter before implementation commences.
“By September, this programme will be implemented in all schools, public and private,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, government has directed that candidates below 18 years would no longer be eligible for admissions into tertiary institutions in Nigeria beginning from 2025 admission year.
He said the enforcement would have commenced with the 2024 admission year, but for the “protest and appeal” by the institutions citing the fact that candidates were not informed about the development before the commencement of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
He said the decision was in line with the recommendations of the National Policy on Education and thus directed that the enforcement start fully in the 2025 admission year.
“I have been a Vice Chancellor for seven years. I have first hand information and I have seen how these underage students struggles to cope in several ways whenever they are prematurely pushed into these universities prematurely.
“When I was monitoring the 2024 UTME, I was alarmed at the participation of a large number of obviously under-age candidates in the examination which necessitated my comment on the need to enforce the extant provisions of the educational policies which made provision for nine years of basic education and three years of senior secondary education before entry into tertiary institution.
“It’s clear that a child who, as expected is enrolled in basic school at the age of six and having undergone 12 years of education would be around 18 years old when being enrolled in a tertiary institution.
“Subsequent information revealed that the enrolment of underage candidates is inflicting serious damage on the university and the education system, hence, the need for enforcement of extant rules.
“I have also been informed about the surge in applications for immediate requests for a change of age to reflect higher age in anticipation of the imminent enforcement of the age policy. This, again, reflects dangerous games being played with the life and future of innocent children by those expected to nurture them.
“Flowing from this, JAMB is, hereby, instructed to admit only eligible students i.e those who have attained 18 years. Universities are advised to avoid recommending unqualified children for admission.”
There was uproar during the meeting when the minister handed down the decision of 18 years entry limit for admissions into tertiary institutions.
Vice Chancellors, Rectors, Provost and other Stakeholders at the meeting protested their disagreement on the minister’s pronouncement.
The minister, however, said that the 2024 admission criteria remained as approved, urging institutions to adhere to the laid down requirements for admission processes.
He warned that any Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provost, who infiltrated admissions outside the Central Admissions Processing Systems (CAPS), would henceforth be sanctioned.
•More reactions
The National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) has rejected plan to peg age limit at 18. According to the Deputy National President, Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo: ‘’How can a minister approve such a policy in this digital age. This decision will set us backward for another 50 year.”
He described the decision as unprogressive and not in tune with modern age when we have professors at nine in India and that is why they are progressing.
“This is not tolerable in Nigeria of today, judging from what education is saying World over. Why do government say by 18 year that is when our children will enter the university.
“The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman should reverse the decision. It is unacceptable to Nigerian parents. Thank God, it is not a law. We will take our position to the National Assembly. This decision will set our children backward,” Ogunbanjo stated.
In his submission titled: “The 18 years age limit for admission: Leaving leprosy and confronting ringworm’’, Coordinator of Lagos Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Adelaja Odukoya, advised the Federal Government to leave admission matter for the universities and face more important issue of the welfare of academies and make the universities globally competitive as against mostly glorified secondary schools majority have become.
He said it is historical and unpardonable tragedy that rather than frontally addressing the myriad of problems confronting education in general and university education in particular, in Nigeria, the government is busy chasing shadows and waiting its energies on denying young Nigerians access to university education in the pretext of being underaged.
His words: “If anything this unfortunate, oppressive and ill-digested policy is evidence of the lack of deep and critical thinking informing public policy in the country particularly as it affect the all-important education section that is presently comatose in urgent need of a new lease of life.
“The crisis of our public university, which this government continues to treat with indifference, is a time bomb, which will sooner than expose in the face of all. It is sad and shameful that a government that campaigned and was voted to power based on a mantra of “renewed hope” is busy promoting and entrenching hopelessness on its intelligentsia who are being bureaucratically terrorized and psychologically humiliated through the refusal to sign and conclude the renegotiated 2009 ASUU-FGN as well as the denial of three and half months outstanding salaries from the government induced strike.”
According to him, most of the children of government officials who abandoned our public universities to study abroad are same age with those to be denied admission, adding, “as it stands, the government is fast becoming the undisputed undertaker of university education in Nigeria.”
In his reaction, the President of Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED), Mr. Emmanuel Orji, said restricting the age limit to 18 have several benefits, which include maturity and readiness to handle the academic and social demands of university life, better focus, reduced stress, improved social skills, increased independence, enhanced academic preparation, reduced dropout rates, alignment with global standards, protection from exploitation and improved university experience.
The Coordinator of Citizenship Civil Awareness Centre, Adeola Soetan advised the board not to ban, now or in the future, underaged candidates from university admission.
He asked: “Why stopping young, brilliant, sharp candidates when there’s space consideration for the ‘Olodos’ called ‘disadvantaged students?’ What’s sauce for the goose must be sauce for the gander. Please let these young guys unleash their positive energies as university students (scholars) before they are unnecessarily diverted. If there’s no enough space in the university system, I suggest these young and genuinely brilliant candidates should be considered first before others.
“Life is a race, no serious nation in this technology-driven jet age of genius discovery will withhold its fastest runner in order for its slowest runners to catch up with the fastest runners. That will be counter productive to individual and national development. You measure a nation’s projected future development more by the capacity of its youth (geniuses) than by the dwindling capacity of its outgoing ‘old cargo’ no matter their experience.”
are ahead of us. So why stopping them but to guide them and “stylishly” learn from them?
He revealed that Lionel Messi started his football career at age four and shortly after at the age of six, he joined Newell’s Old Boys, a team he had supported throughout his childhood. The whole world can see the benefits and good sense in that as the world greatest footballers winning all the winnable.
He called on JAMB and government not to stop the genuinely extraordinary brilliant children and stated that the university, the world and our future belong to them.
Uche Obolo, an official of Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba, said the decision would not go well with the country, considering some challenges that comes with the education system in Nigeria.
“There’s several advantages and disadvantages of the policy. The fear of many parents and people is the children might be overaged for NYSC and job opportunities if they are admitted at 18.
“Some students are admitted to study some special courses like medicine, law, Pharmacy and other five, six or seven-year courses. Remember, strike by ASUU is inevitable, hence must be factored in. So, when you add all these together, with the 18 years stuff, they child must have reached 28 or 30 years.”
She, however, stated that the Minister may be correct that some underage children presents at universities obviously unready, emotionally, physically and otherwise, hence they struggle to cope with tbe school environment. “Undoubtedly, these children are so vulnerable in such environment because they are immature for the environment they found themselves.”
She suggested that, if the policy should be implemented, then the whatever law on NYSC and job opportunities must be reviewed downward to accommodate these challenges that are often encountered by the students.
Similarly, another participants, an Admission Officer, who did not want to be named said, “This policy will obviously work. How can a child finish school, write WAEC and JAMB and passed, and you then deny him or her admission on the basis of age. That’s unfair.”
He faulted of JAMB for allowing under aged children to write the examination.