The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mammanm has granted requests by heads of tertiary institutions to allow candidates who are 16 years of age to gain admission into tertiary institutions of their choice.

The minister was forced to succumb, following the argument that students under the age of 18 had already registered, sat, and passed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and awaiting admission.

Leading the motion in Abuja on Thursday, July 18, 2024, the Vice-Chancellor of Elizalde University, Prof. Kayode Thadius Ijiadunola, who got massive support from other heads, registrars, and admission officers participating at the policy meeting, proposed 16 as the minimum age requirement for admission into tertiary institutions.

“What happens to those who have written this year’s exams and passed their examinations? We reject 18 years as minimum age requirement and are proposing 16 years,” Ijiadunola said.

While the hall erupted in support of 16 years as the minimum requirement, the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB) Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, asked where parents and candidates were rushing to.

“The only point is they have taken examination and at that time they were not told or aware and therefore if we want to enforce it, it should be from subsequent years,” Oloyede said.

Protest as minister pegs admission at 18 years

The minister had earlier said: “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.”

Reiterating the minister’s decision amidst resounding applause, Oloyede added: “We thank the minister for conceding but from next year we will enforce it.”

Earlier, Mamman while delivering his address as chairman of the 2024 JAMB policy meeting, called for enforcement of 18 years as the new minimum admission age for admission into tertiary institutions in the country.

Immediately after Mamman made the announcement, the stakeholders who turned out in their members from across tertiary institutions in the country, voiced a resistance which turned the session into a rowdy one.

The minister who was unable to proceed with his address as a result of the uproar, had asked “Are we together?”

However, the stakeholders had responded with a resounding “No!”

The minister who seemed unperturbed with the development, had continued with his address as he tried to give reasons for pegging the new admission benchmark at 18.

It took the intervention of Oloyede to restore order to the policy meeting with his plea of  “Please attention please!”

The policy meeting on education is an annual event. It authorised the commencement of admission into tertiary institutions in the country.

The Star