Education Minister Tahir Mamman has declared that underage candidates will no longer be permitted to sit secondary school leaving examinations in Nigeria.
This directive was announced during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme, monitored by Allaboutschools.
Minister Mamman revealed that the Federal Government has mandated the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) to adhere to an age limit of 18 years for candidates taking the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), respectively. This age restriction also applies to the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
“It is 18 (years). What we did at the meeting that we had with 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,” Mamman stated.
The minister emphasized that this is not a new policy but a reinforcement of existing regulations. “Even basically if you compute the number of years pupils, and learners are supposed to be in school, the number you will end up with is 17 and a half – from early child care to primary school to junior secondary school and then senior secondary school. You will end up with 17 and a half by the time they are ready for admission,” he explained.
Mamman reiterated that the directive is merely a reminder of the standing policy. “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.”
“In any case, NECO and WAEC, henceforth will not be allowing underage children to write their examinations. In other words, if somebody has not spent the requisite number of years in that particular level of study, WAEC and NECO will not allow them to write the examination,” he added.
Providing a breakdown of the educational timeline, Mamman explained that early care is expected to last for the first five years. Pupils begin primary one at the age of six, spend six years in primary school, move to junior secondary school at the age of 12, spend three years there, before advancing to senior secondary school at the age of 15, where they will spend three more years, ultimately preparing for university at the age of 18.