As parents are opposing the directive on the proposed 18 years age limit for entry into tertiary institutions and sitting for school certificate examinations as announced by the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, stakeholders have proffered options available to parents and underage applicants to productively engage themselves, Assistant Editor Bola Olajuwon reports
This is not the best of time for tertiary institutions’ applicants, owing to the Federal Government’s directive that candidates less than 18 years old should not sit for the National Examinations Council and West African Examinations Council examinations or be admitted into post-secondary education, including public and private universities and colleges.
Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, gave the directive on Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) during a monitoring of the last examination at Bwari, the Federal Capital Territory.
He decried the activities of some parents, who were compelling their underage children to get admission into tertiary institutions, explaining that the 18-year benchmark is in line with the 6-3-3-4 system of education.
Following the directive, the National Assembly pledged to come up with a robust legislation to support the new age limit.
Chairman, Senate Committee on tertiary institutions and TETFund, Senator Muntari Dandutse, said this while monitoring the 2024 UTME. Dandutse said though age should not be a barrier to tertiary educational institutions, the age limit of 18 as proposed by the minister was sacrosanct.
To add to the distressed news while potential candidates are contending with the entry age for UTME, Mamman, on a television station programme on Sunday, announced the prohibition of individuals under the age of 18 from taking part in the National Examinations Council and Senior School Certificate Examinations.
He explained that the Federal Government has directed WAEC, which conducts the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and NECO, which oversees the Senior School Certificate Examination, to enforce the 18-year age requirement.
Saying that the directive was not a new policy, he added that the age limit for candidates sitting for the UTME remained at 18 years.
The two directives are eliciting mixed reactions from education stakeholders, owing to the fact that they will affect educational aspirations of thousands of underage pupils who are between 14 to 16 years and are expected to be in SS3 in new secondary school calender or apply for UTME in next academic year.
Parents, university bodies, other unions react
Aligning with the minister, the National President of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said: “Let parents do the needful by putting their wards in school at six years. The children would be emotionally mature by 18 when they get to higher institutions.
“It is the proliferation of private schools at all levels that is driving opposition to this policy. If the public schools are good for everyone, then those patronising private ones will reduce in number.
“Regarding what those who pass out of secondary school before 18 would do, their parents should be responsible for that. If they rush them to school, they should make arrangements to take care of them before they move on to higher institutions,” he added.
But, the Deputy National President of NAPTAN, Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo, disagreed, indicating plans by the association to challenge the new directive in court.
According to him, NAPTAN had spoken to some lawyers on the matter and the practitioners counselled that the association should be patient for the year 2025 to roll in.
“Why the 18 years policy? For instance, what will happen to all the children in all Nigerian secondary schools that are in SS1 at the age of 14? It now meant that in next two years, they would be 16 years. Won’t they write WASSC?
“Around March next year, before WAEC and others start to conduct the SSCE, we will sue the government if they refuse to drop the policy. We will go to court because the minister wants to draw education back to the country.
“They simply want to kill knowledge and education in the country. They also want to kill the aspirations of parents to get their wards educated. It will mess up the education sector. Let them just leave the policy at 16 years.
“The world has changed and we must change with it. What do they want those who leave secondary school before 18 to do? The policy is simply not in tune with the reality of the times,” he stated.
He noted that some people in parts of the country give their daughters in marriage at 13, wondering if the practice was not bad enough.
To the National President of CONUA, Dr. Niyi Sunmonu, his union will only support leaving the age requirement at 17.
“We are reiterating our earlier position. When the minister said early in the year that when he monitored the UTME, he saw some young chaps writing the exam and canvassed pegging the year at 18, we said 17 is okay. A student can leave secondary school at 16 or a little above that and seek admission for higher education at 17.
“The minister should call a meeting of stakeholders in the sector to deliberate on it. The policy should go through the process of acceptance by all and even be legislated upon by the National Assembly. Parents want to be free from the burden of educating their children as soon as possible,” he said.
Experts raise options for parents, applicants
While parents and unions are defending their positions on the directives, thousands of pupils will not sit for WASSCE and UTME for the next sittings. What options are available for the pupils because of the new policies?
Dr. Olusegun Alao of Department of Technology and Vocational Education, Faculty of Education, University of Lagos (UNILAG), told The Nation that governments could establish new or equip existing vocational centres across the country that run for two years for free and students awaiting the JAMB examination can be admitted there “and the certificate of completion should be a major criterion to register for JAMB.
“With this, youth capacity building for employability and self-employment will be enhanced.
“The government can also collaborate with companies and industries to allow the students awaiting the JAMB exam to embark on a two-year compulsory internship based on the choices of the candidates. They should be paid monthly stipend by the government and the industries,” he said.
A professional counsel, Mrs. Bunmi Elabor, noted that education management would not to be effective in the country, if age is not properly considered.
“Presently, the policy of education is recommending 18 years for a child before he or she can write JAMB. As much as possible, a child of 14 to 17 years most times gain admission to the university and he or she will not be able to take care of himself or herself properly and this gives avenue for negative peer pressure.
“The available options for pupils who cannot write JAMB are as follows: Government should create an avenue where those who could not write jamb will have access to skills acquisition. Provision of material to the less-privilege, who need assistance to learn skills. Paying them a token at the end of the month. This should cut across all levels in respective of tribe or language. There should be close monitoring of checking age grades before registration for jamb or skill training.”
She also canvassed accessibility of guidance counsellors for advice where necessary and employment of more trained volunteers and professional teachers in technical schools across the nation.
“In view of the above, the youth will be self-reliant before getting admission to the higher institution. Also, social vices such as ‘yahoo yahoo’ and ritual killing will be curbed. And lastly, mental health of our youths will be stable,” she said.
Also, Education Director of Mind Builders Group of Schools, Mrs. Bola Falore, said while the government may not change the policy directive, “the question that comes to mind is: what options are available for thousands of students who will not be able to write JAMB as from next year because of this new policy?
“First, such students can embark on a gap year, which is also known as a sabbatical year. This is a period of time when students would have to take a break from their studies, usually after the completion of their secondary or high school programme or before their entrance into the university system. During this period, students engage in various academic and developmental activities. The gap years are not limited to a yearlong break and can range from several months to a few years.
“Secondly, such students, rather than remaining idle, are advised to pursue a two years of ‘A levels’ study in a particular course that is related to their aspired course of study in the university. This will help them to be better prepared for life in the tertiary institutions.
“Thirdly, such students can embark on skill acquisition in a vocational training programme like barbing, hair dressing, computer literacy and technological programmes to mention but few. From the skills required above, the students stand the chance and opportunities of generating the higher institutions of their choice. This will help alleviate too much dependence on their parents for their upkeep allowance.
“Fourthly, they may get registered in some professional courses that relate to their future course of study. For instance, students who aspired to study Accounting in the higher institutions of learning but are not up to the stipulated age of 18 years, can get registered for preliminaries of ICAN and funny enough, such student would have gotten some ICAN professional qualifications before getting admitted into the university or higher institution of learning. So also, students aspiring for degrees in Nursing can get hooked-up in the Auxiliary Nursing programmes, among others.
“Fifthly, such students can embark on pre-degree programmes at the universities or higher institutions of their choices. By the pre-degree programmes, this will give such students ample opportunities to be properly ready for the degree programme proper, at successful completion of the pre-degree programmes. Also, such students stand the chances of having upper hands over other students due to the pre-knowledge acquired in their field of study.
“Moreover, the students in question can embark on the exploration of some online courses that are relevant to their courses of study in their higher institutions of choice. Also, they may register at JAMB tutorial centres, where they will receive intensive coaching on JAMB and this will eventually enhance them to make better grades in JAMB in future.
“The crux of the matter is that the policy should not make such students to just lazy about and waste their precious time. The extra year or more that students who graduate from secondary school earlier than 18 years have to themselves should be put to good use that will help them become better individuals in future.”
Head of Baking, Catering, Hotel Management, Inspire Polytechnic Egbeda Campus, Bassey Nene, a chef, said to The Nation: “So, some of the options available today is for them to pick up vocational skill acquisitions. These are like special programmes that train young people, empower them to become better citizens in future. Common examples of vocational training like fashion designing, what most of us know as tailor, fabric amendments, pattern drafting, hairdressing, makeup, barbing, electrical engineering, computer science, automobile, mechanical engineering, catering and baking services, hotel management, to mention a few. So, some of these courses can be done on-site, while some of them can be done online.
“Which is always advisable for most young people who are under the age of 16 to 18 to at least pick up one skill on-site? And this skill will give them certification. Also, it will help them minimise loitering, corruption and peer pressure. We know that, the trending habits among young ladies and young men are yahoo, yahoo, hook ups and the likes. So, being engaged in one form of skill acquisition will limit that problem and also reduce peer pressure.”
“It does also help them to be engaged, productively and make them focus. At the end of this training, they’ll be results-oriented and employable. So also, some of our private universities also offer entrepreneurial vocational skills. So, by the time they get there, they just go ahead to empower themselves even more. So, vocational skills can also help them to become economically productive.
“They’ll be able to meet some of their basic welfare needs that their parents might not be able to meet. Also, we know that some of these vocations are of high placements outside of the shores of Nigeria. So, by the time you have one vocation or the other, you’ll be useful to both yourself, your parents, your economy and you can function anywhere. So, my advice to parents and even young ones is for them to get themselves preoccupied with one form of skill training or the other,” Nene said.
