Amid the ongoing 2024 Policy Meeting on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions, the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman has directed Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB) and Nigerian tertiary institutions to admit students who took part in this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) that are 16, 17 years and above into the tertiary institutions.
The Education Minister who gave this directive on Thursday in Abuja said from next year, 2025 tertiary institutions must admit only candidates who are 18 years and above.
The Minister took this decision after stakeholders expresses dissatisfaction that some candidates who took part in this year UTME examination where not aware of the age limit.
He, therefore, agreed that students from 16 age be allowed for this year’s JAMB because they did not know when they took the exam that the minimum age as stated by the Nigerian constitution is 18 years
Responding to the ominous grumbling in the hall, the minister insisted that his position was backed by Nigeria’s law guiding admissions into tertiary institutions. He said it shouldn’t require a statement from him for that to be taken into consideration by admission bodies.
“Our laws require students to be in school from six years —Yes, there are those who do that from five—, and remain in primary school for six years, basic education for three years, and secondary school for three years… It doesn’t require a statement of the minister… we are only restating what is in the law,” he added.
The policy meeting is a forum of critical stakeholders in the admission processes into tertiary institutions in the country including university vice-chancellors and registrars, rectors and registrars of polytechnics, provosts, and registrars of colleges of education, JAMB registrar and other officials of the examination body, among principal officers of monotechnics.
Details later…