The Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, announced in a television programme that the Federal Government had instituted a new age policy for secondary school leaving examinations, setting the minimum age at 18.
This means underage candidates will no longer be allowed to sit for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the Senior School Certificate Examination, both crucial for advancing to tertiary education.
The directive also affects the West African Examinations Council, which administers the WASSCE, and the National Examinations Council responsible for the SSCE. Additionally, Mamman confirmed that the age limit to undertake the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, overseen by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, will also be 18. He added that this was not a new policy.
The minister went further to give a breakdown of the number of years pupils were expected to spend between child care and senior secondary school. According to him, early care is expected to last for the first five years. Pupils are expected to begin primary one at the age of six, spend six years in primary school and move to junior secondary school at the age of 12, spend three years, before moving to senior secondary school at the age of 15, then spend another three years before leaving for university at the age of 18.
Last month, Mamman, in a meeting with JAMB and other education stakeholders, insisted that the UTME should be set at 18 years.
However, the law sparked criticisms, particularly from university stakeholders, as many of those categorised as underage candidates had already taken the UTME without anticipating the directive. This posed a threat to potential 16 and 17-year-olds, who had already passed the UTME and were seeking admission into universities.
Following the disapproval, the minister reversed the directive, allowing candidates from 16 years to be admitted into the university as it previously stood until 2025.
However, following Sunday’s pronouncement, Mamman insisted that there was no going back on the policy.