The minister of education, Prof Tahir Mamman, has given an approval to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and Nigerian tertiary institutions to admit candidates from the age of 16.
This followed objections and pleas by heads of tertiary institutions present at the policy meeting on the 2024 admission organised by JAMB and held in Abuja on Thursday.
The policy meeting is a forum for 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, the JAMB registrar and other officials of the examination body, and principal officers of monotechnics.
Earlier in his speech, Tahir had directed the institutions not to admit candidates under 18.
“JAMB is hereby instructed from admission this year to admit only eligible students. That is those who have attained 18 years by our laws,” he had said.
“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,”
However, while considering the memorandum for the 2024 policy meeting on this year’s admissions, heated arguments ensued over the minister’s directive on underage admissions.
He called for the adoption of 16 years as many of those categorised underage candidates have already taken the UTME without anticipating the directive.
But the registrar of JAMB, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, who convened the meeting, said it was not a new policy or directive.
The minister, however, agreed that candidates from the age of 16 be admitted and the meeting approved it.
“For practical reasons, we will go with that,” the minister said.
