Prof. Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education, backtracked on the decision to ban underage admissions on Thursday as from 2024.
The minister yielded to pressure from stakeholders who vehemently objected to the policy at the ongoing 2024 Joint Admissions and Matriculation Examination (JAMB) policy meeting.
Stakeholders protested the new minimum admission age, which is 18 years.
Persecondnews recalls that as soon as Mamman made the announcement, the stakeholders in attendance, representing various tertiary institutions from across the country, erupted in opposition, transforming the session into a chaotic scene.
The minister faced such intense dissent that he had to pause and ask, ‘Are we together in a futile attempt to restore order?’
The stakeholders had responded with a resounding “No!”
Despite the tumultuous reaction, the minister remained composed and persisted in delivering his remarks, endeavouring to justify the decision to set the new admission benchmark at 18 years.
However, the meeting didn’t finally return to order until Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, the Registrar of JAMB, intervened.
Following discussions with other key stakeholders, Oloyede announced: “At the time they (candidates) were taking the examinations, they were not aware. So if we want to enforce it, then it should be for subsequent years.”
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