The Federal Government has announced a ban on underage students taking secondary school certificate exams conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO).
Prof. Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education, announced this on Channels Television’s ‘Sunday Politics’.
The minister announced that WAEC and NECO have received instructions to immediately enforce a long-standing rule requiring students to be at least 18 years old to register for WASSCE and SSCE exams.
He clarified that this is not a new policy, but rather a renewed emphasis on existing regulations that have been in place previously.
He said: “It is 18 years. What we did at the meeting that we had with JAMB (in July) was to allow this year and for it to serve as a kind of notice for parents that this year.
“JAMB will admit students who are below that age, but from next year, JAMB is going to insist that anybody applying to go to university in Nigeria meets the required age, which is 18.
“For the avoidance of doubt, this is not a new policy; this is a policy that has been there for a long time.
“Even basically, if you compute the number of years pupils and learners are supposed to be in school, the number you will end up with is 17 and a half—from early child care to primary school to junior secondary school and then senior secondary school. You will end up with 17 and a half by the time they are ready for admission.
“So, we are not coming up with a new policy contrary to what some people are saying; we are just simply reminding people of what is existing.
“In any case, NECO and WAEC, henceforth, will not be allowing underage children to write their examinations.
“In other words, if somebody has not spent the requisite number of years at that particular level of study, WAEC and NECO will not allow them to write the examination.”
The minister further clarified that the minimum age requirement of 18 years for candidates registering for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) remains unchanged.
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