Following the exit of erstwhile Education Minister Prof. Tahir Mamman, it remains to be seen if the contentious 18-year minimum age policy for university admissions, to be implemented next year, will be retained, DAMOLA KOLA-DARE reports.
Last Wednesday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu dismissed five ministers from his cabinet to reposition the National Executive Council (NEC) for effective service delivery. Among the sacked ministers was the erstwhile Education Minister Prof. Tahir Mamman.
Many saw Mamman’s sack as a shock, particularly after his efforts toward the setting up of a committee to look into the outstanding issues affecting the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) 2009 agreement among other pending demands.
However, the erstwhile minister’s 18-year minimum age policy for university admission drew the ire of many stakeholders, including parents. Observers reckoned that he should have made wide and open consultations before jumping to announce policy.
In a move to justify the decision, Mamman argued that the ministry was emphasising the age requirement for entry into tertiary institutions as outlined in the National Policy on Education, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Act, and the Education (Minimum) Standards Act 1993, and not the age for participating in West African Examinations Council (WAEC), National Examinations Council (NECO), National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) or any ordinary level examinations.
“However, the ministry acknowledges that some children are exceptionally intelligent and the ministry will work out a guideline to deal with cases of genuine exceptionally intelligent learners,” he added.
A contentious policy: to be or not to be?
Despite the clarification and what seemed a justification, the policy generated intense outrage, even as critics believe that contributed mainly to his exit. On whether the policy will be retained, stakeholders argued that government should decide that, while others hold that it is dead on arrival.
Speaking on the contentious policy, Vice Chancellor, African School of Economics (the Pan-African University of Excellence), Abuja, Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji, posited that whether the policy stays or not, it is within the purview of the policy makers, adding that policies are to be critically examined and retained or revised as deemed fit.
While giving an assessment of the minister’s tenure, Adedimeji said he did his best, particularly with the DOTS, an acronym for Data Repository, Out-of-School Children Education, Teacher Training and Development, and Skill Development and Acquisition, policy and the renewed emphasis on skills acquisition.
Adedimeji said: “While I understand the thinking behind the policy, my opinion is that 16 years should have been enforced as the minimum age for admission to universities. This is because we have a situation in which those who are below 16 are being admitted. That would have been better and that is why the revised policy allowing candidates who are to be 16 by next year to be admitted this academic session resonates with many Nigerians.
“I think whether the policy stays or not is within the purview of the policy-makers and my own is to suggest that we implement the erstwhile 16 years first. The expected thing is that policies are to be critically examined and retained or revised as deemed fit.
“My assessment is that the former minister did his best. He is a tall intellectual figure as he combines the highest academic title with the highest professional title in law. I like the DOTS policy of his administration and the renewed emphasis on skills acquisition. I would score him A as he did his best and we appreciate his service.
‘‘For instance, the stance he took on the degree mills was commendable just as his efforts in taking the public universities out of the IPPIS payment system were laudable.”
Deputy National President, National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo, noted that the policy cannot outlive the minister.
He said: “The policy still has to go through public hearing. The policy cannot stay. We will mobilise against it. Government cannot continue with the policy; that was what consumed him. All those policies he was trying to introduce. Education is now becoming expensive… To assess the minister, it is below average. The 16-year policy should be allowed to stay. Let it be the choice of universities to decide the age to grant admission. We should stick to the 6-3-3-4 system. Now that he is fired, we don’t want such a policy anymore. It is educationally retrogressive for Nigerian students and parents.”
For Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Chairman, University of Lagos (UNILAG) branch, Prof. Kayode Adebayo, the government will decide if it wants to stick with the policy or discard it. He added that the minister was not given ample time to prove his mettle. Adebayo hailed the minister for setting up a committee to look into several lingering issues, including renegotiation of the 2009 agreement with the Federal Government.
He said: “The minister was not given sufficient time to display his quality and prove himself. He tried his best. He was a positive minister. Concerning the 18 years admission age, did he do something wrong? I don’t know how that became an offence. The government knows what to do concerning the policy. Who is an adult in Nigerian constitution?
“He started well; he started to hit the ground running, but part of the criticism against him is that how will he just announce that universities should not admit students who are not up to 18 years. Critics said he should have told the President before taking the decision. He did the little he could do. He started something that would give us hope; that shows light at the end of the tunnel. One of the main reasons he was removed was because of the policy. He set up a committee for the ASUU renegotiation of the 2009 agreement. He was sacked the day the committee was to have its inaugural meeting. He didn’t have the opportunity to sit and negotiate with the group. He was performing, and still did the needful within the system.
National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Southwest Coordinator, Comr. Owolewa Taiwo, noted that the initial policy of no admission for under-18 students would have disenfranchised many students who had already written their examinations. He added that Mamman’s later reversal of this policy, specifically for the 2024 admissions, showed that he was willing to listen to feedback and make adjustments.
“The policy of no admission for under-18 students was actually reversed by Tahir Mamman, the former Education Minister, after facing backlash from stakeholders. Initially, he had announced that candidates seeking admission into higher institutions must be 18 and above. However, this decision was met with strong opposition from stakeholders, including Vice Chancellors and Rectors, who argued that it would force students below 18 years to stay at home for two to three more years.
“Later, Mamman changed the minimum age for admissions into tertiary institutions from 18 to 16 years, specifically for the 2024 admissions. He also set a minimum tolerance score of 140 for admissions into universities and 100 for polytechnics and colleges of education.
“As for how NANS would assess Mamman’s tenure, it’s likely that his policy decisions would be viewed as inconsistent and potentially harmful to students. The initial policy of no admission for under-18 students would have disenfranchised many students, who had already written their exams. However, Mamman’s later reversal of this policy shows that he was willing to listen to feedback and make adjustments.
Overall, NANS may view Mamman’s tenure as marked by controversy and inconsistency, but also a willingness to adapt to feedback,” he said.
Why the sack was inevitable
Nevertheless, a group, Education for Accelerated Development (EDAD) in a statement by its National Coordinator, Dr. Livinus Mbaonu, assessed the former minister’s era, and highlighted reasons the minister was sacked.
The statement read: “Tahir’s statements led to a diplomatic misunderstanding between Nigeria, Benin Republic, and Togo, resulting in the suspension of degree programmes from universities in these countries.
“He wrongly claimed that only three universities in Benin were accredited, while the actual number is over 50, causing confusion about the legitimacy of these institutions.
“His unprofessional handling of foreign students’ participation in the NYSC scheme caused thousands of Nigerian graduates from Benin and Togo to be denied entry into the programme and the Ministry of Education’s failure to address the needs of stranded foreign students, whose scholarships are unpaid or delayed leads to significant challenges.
“The former minister’s implementation of an 18-year minimum age policy for university admissions resulted in a lawsuit against the ministry, as many saw it as restrictive and discriminatory.
“Mamman declared that Nigerians who had obtained certificates from universities in Benin and Togo would be sacked from public service and prosecuted.
“The former minister claimed that the Federal Government would pay stipends to all unemployed graduates in Nigeria, a promise that was not part of the government’s agenda and created false expectations.”
Enter new ministers
The duo of Tunji Alausa and Suwaiba Ahmad were announced as the new Minister of Education and the Minister of State for Education respectively.
Mr. Alausa, the new education minister, is a successful medical doctor. He bagged a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Lagos in 1993. He practised as a Nephrologist in the United States for many years. He served as Chief Medical Resident at Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. He was also an Assistant Professor at the Rush University Medical School.
Alausa was named one of America’s Best Physicians in 2007, 2012 and 2020. Before his latest appointment as education minister, he served as the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare.
He hails from Epe, Lagos State, and is a personal physician to President Tinubu.
Ms Ahmad, an associate professor of education, has extensive experience in the sector. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education and Chemistry from Bayero University, Kano (BUK) in 2003 and her Master of Education in Curriculum Studies from the same university in 2009. Ms Ahmad also obtained her doctorate in Science Education from Ahmadu Bello University in 2014.
She has worked as an academic staff at the Bayero University Kano since 2004. She is also an associate of the Policy Practice, an organisation working on political economy analysis on governance, conflict and fragility, economic and social development.
She was also the Director of the Centre for Gender Studies at BUK, a position she assumed in 2020. She was the consultant for the state-level situation report for Jigawa State and part of Kano State on the Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE), a seven-year education programme funded by the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
She was also the consultant for Jigawa State for Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL) flagship, another FCDO-sponsored programme on core governance reforms and service delivery improvements in the country.
