Should government set age requirements for admission into tertiary institutions?
In Nigeria, the minister of education says students must be at least eighteen years to be admitted into Nigerian universities.
But many parents are not excited about the new policy
Why was the policy introduced, the the legal issues around it and why Nigerian parents rush their children through school.
The 18-year benchmark for admission into tertiary institutions is not new in Nigeria.
It is embedded in the 1982 education policy of 6 years in primary school, three in junior secondary, three in senior secondary and a minimum of four years to be spent in tertiary institution, otherwise called the 6:3:3:4 system.
The reform also stated that a child should be enrolled into primary one from the age of six.
Nigeria’s Education Minister, Professor Tahir Mamman, was however booed on July 18, 2024, when he wanted 18 years age benchmark implementation to begin in 2023/24 academic year.
Mamman’s argument is that the 6:3:3:4 is already in the country’s laws, and it will help students get mentally and psychologically mature to withstand the rigors of adult life in tertiary institutions.
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The Minister also said WAEC and NECO should not register candidates for the senior secondary certificate examinations for next year, if they are not 18 years of age, at the time their results will be released.
Findings by ait.live shows that, the 6;3:3:4 system of education was utterly disrupted when the government pushed funds to establish and promote the National Early Childhood and Care Education NECCE, in the late 1980s.
Further investigation shows that another contributing factor is the system in mostly private schools where pupils are allowed to exit elementary education at primary 5 some at ages 8 or 9.
And so by age 15, most of them are through with secondary education and set for the university
The worry for most Nigerians with dusting and reinforcing system of education, is:
- Since implementation is in just one year, what happened to students who will not be about 18 years by April 2025 when WAEC starts?
- What happens to those who did not secure admission this year and still won’t be 18 years by April 2025, when the next UTME will be conducted?
And would private tertiary institutions be exempted from the compulsory 18-year admission benchmark?
The reality though is that some of the students seeking admission into the university in their mid-teens are academically high-performing students. But is that enough? I spoke to a university lecturer who shared his experience teaching 100-level students Which he describes as not too pleasing
The Nigerian government isn’t looking at just age benchmark enforcements. It also wants to begin skills acquisition programmes from primary school to make students self-reliant, even after school.
This again is taking things back to when traditional system of education focused on apprenticeship, before the gradual shift to learning policies that focused on producing clerks and assistants for colonial administrations.
Professor Tahir Mamman’s proposal to focus on quality rather than speed in learning will have to get the endorsement of the National Council on Education. If it passes through, many secondary school graduates will have to take gap year skills-based programmes before they are old enough for university admission.
(Editor : Ena Agbanoma)
