In a remarkable reversal of his earlier stance, the Education Minister Professor Tahir Mamman has retracted his previous directive to JAMB to admit only those applicants who have reached the age of 18.
After an intense opposition from stakeholders during the JAMB-organized policy meeting, Professor Mamman reversed his earlier decision to set the admission age of undergraduate students at 18, and instead settled on 16 years as the minimum requirement for admission into tertiary institutions.
In response to the contention that students under the age of 18 had already registered and successfully completed the UTME, the Minister reconsidered his earlier decision and agreed to lower the age requirement to 16 for admission into tertiary institutions.
Jointly hosted by the JAMB Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, and attended by a diverse range of key stakeholders, including Vice Chancellors and Registrars from tertiary institutions, the policy meeting took place on Thursday in Abuja, with the purpose of addressing issues related to the minimum admission age for tertiary institutions.
Leading a vocal opposition to the Minister’s initial pronouncement, Professor Kayode Ijiadunola’s proposal to lower the minimum admission age requirement to 16 garnered significant support among fellow heads, registrars, and admission officers present at the policy meeting.
The Professor said, “What happens to those who have written this year’s exams and passed their exams? We reject 18 years as the minimum age requirement and are proposing 16 years.”
Despite the overwhelming support for 16 years as the minimum admission age, the Registrar of JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede, raised a crucial question: “Where are parents and candidates rushing to”
In Prof. Oloyede’s word, “The only point is they have taken examinations and at that time they were not told or aware and therefore if we want to enforce it, it should be from subsequent years.”
The minister in response says, “I can work with that but I want to remind you of one thing, even that argument cannot stand if we want to go by the law which states 6-3-3-4 as our system of education, it won’t stand but for practical reasons, for this year, I will allow it to stand.”
Amidst applause from the gathering Professor Ishaq Oloyede reiterated the Minister’s concession on the minimum admission age, stating, “We thank the minister for conceding but from next year we will enforce it.”
At the start of the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) policy meeting on Education, Professor Mamman, acting as the chairperson, had proposed a policy change that would enforce 18 years as the new minimum age requirement for admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
