Nigeria has decided to ban students below the age of 18 from studying in universities and taking higher education from the next year.
Minister of Education of Nigeria – Prof. Tahir Mamman, has barred students under the age of 18 from enrolling for the higher educational institutions in the country.
Reportedly, the education minister announced this on July 18, 2024 at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) policy meeting in Abuja. Vice-chancellors, admission officers, registrars and other stakeholders loudly protested the policy, forcing Mamman to stop his speech halfway.
JAMB policy meeting is an annual event at which stakeholders from Nigerians tertiary institutions decide on appropriate cut-off marks for admissions.
As the emotions continues to run high, the minister reconsidered his earlier stance by allowing the schools to admit candidates only from age-16 for the current 2024 academic session because many of them had already sat for the year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
However, the minister said that the age limit of 18 and older would be strictly implemented from the beginning of the 2025 academic year.
During his visit to an UTME centre in April 2024, the minister expressed the concern that a large number of the candidates who appeared were between the age of 15 & 16 and said that they are too young to understand what university education is all about.
Minister Mamman said that the Nigerian educational system requires a child to enrol in an elementary school at the age of 06 and spend his rest six years before proceeding to a secondary school for spending another six years of learning.
He stated that it is clear that a child who is enrolled in a basic school at the age of six and has undergone 12 years of education would be around age 18, when enrolled in a tertiary institution. The joint admissions and matriculation board is hereby instructed to admit only the eligible ones, especially those who are of age 18.
The education minister advised the universities to avoid recommending unqualified children for admission. As per the information revealed, the enrolment of under-age candidates is inflicting serious damage on the university and the education system, hence the need for the enforcement of extant rules.
However, just after the directive of Minister Mamman, JAMB (the examination authority that conducts entrance to universities, polytechnics and colleges of education) posted on ‘X’ (formerly known as twitter) that the candidates who are of age 16 would be considered for admissions into tertiary institutions for the academic year 2024. The entry age would be 18 from the next academic year.
But the Student Union has refused to accept the decision of the ministry. The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has told the University World News that the decision of the minister will undermine the individual differences in intellectual and academic capacities of students who have finished their secondary school education before they turn 18.
President of NANS – Pedro Obi said that the blanket ban is completely unacceptable to the student bodies. They have declared such a far-reaching decision without the robust stakeholder engagement and legislative support that undermines the democratic process and inclusivity in policymaking.
Obi further added to his statement and said that, there are many countries where higher education admissions are based on the academic merit and readiness of the students, despite of their age, noting that the decision of the government could place Nigerian students at a disadvantage, globally.
President confirmed that NANS is saying no to the plans by the federal government to set the minimum age for admission of students into higher institutions at the age of 18, as it is unfriendly, unjust and not equitable.