The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman has conceded his decision to peg the admission age of undergraduates to 18, following protests from stakeholders at the ongoing Policy meeting organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB.
Mamman said Heads of tertiary institutions could be allowed to admit candidates who are 16 years of age, 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 were awaiting admission.
Leading the motion, Vice Chancellor of Elizade University Prof. Kayode Thadius Ijiadunola who got massive support from other heads, registrar and admission officers participating in the policy meeting, proposed 16 as the minimum age requirement for admission into tertiary institutions.
He said, "What happens to those who have written this year's exams and passed their exams? We reject 18 years as the minimum age requirement and are proposing 16 years."
While the hall erupted in support of 16 years as a minimum requirement, the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, asked where parents and candidates were rushing to?
Oloyede said: "The only point is they have taken examinations and at that time they were not told or aware and therefore if we want to enforce it, it should be from subsequent years."
The minister in response had 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 a resounding applause, Prof Oloyede added, "We thank the minister for conceding but from next year we will enforce it."
Earlier, the minister while delivering his address as chairman of the 2024 Joint Admissions Matriculation Board's (JAMB) policy meeting on Education holding on Thursday in Abuja, had called for enforcement of 18 years as the new minimum admission age for admission into tertiary institutions in the country.
Immediately after the Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman made the announcement, the stakeholders who turned out their members from across tertiary institutions in the country, voiced 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 the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, to restore order to the policy meeting with his plea of "Please pay attention please!"
The policy meeting on education is an annual event. It authorised the commencement of admission into tertiary institutions in the country.
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