• Mixed reactions trail proposed 18-year-age limit for varsity admission
By Gabriel Dike, Magnus Eze, Enugu and Felix Ikem, Nsukka
Minister of Education, Prof. Tahiru Mamman on Monday, April 22, 2024, stirred the hornet’s nest. He told Nigerians of government’s intention to shift university admission age limit from 16 to 18 years.
He dropped the hint after monitoring the on going Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Abuja. He argued that the 18-year benchmark “is in line with the 6:3:3:4 education system.”
The system provides for six years of primary school, followed by three years of junior secondary school, three years of senior secondary education and tertiary education of varying stages, provided a first degree in the university shall be of not less than four years duration.
The National Parents, Teachers Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), not only rejected the age limit, it said the decision would create confusion in the system. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) said the policy “is the IMF/World Bank initiative and targeted at poor people who don’t have money to send wards to private universities or abroad.”
The Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED) asked what would happen to millions of students, 15 and 16 years who would write the May/June West African Senior School Certificate (Examination), Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the 1.9million candidates currently writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
NAPTAN rejects new age limit
Deputy National President, NAPTAN, Chief Adeola Ogunbanjo, said Nigerian parents are saying no to the proposal: “We want it to be left at 16 years. Some of these students have talents, how do you develop talents? Government should not put any age limit. If a girl or boy is talented, he or she should be encouraged.
“In our days, we used to have double promotion for brilliant students. The nation is now saying such students cannot progress. No, the education minister got it wrong. Government should leave it open for some gifted children.
“You don’t limit the knowledge acquisition of students. Acquisition of knowledge should not be limited to a particular age. Some pupils are just brilliant and they excel at young age.
Ogunbanjo insisted age limit would create confusion and problem for parents. He advised the Federal Government to leave the admission at 16 years: “It is total no, no, no for Nigerian parents. What would the students be doing after writing WASSCE, SSCE and UTME? The students would mark time at home.
“The minister should understand that parents would not accept this proposal. It would create confusion for the system and they want to cause another problem.”
He advised the minister to throw open the proposal to stakeholders to discuss and wait for the outcome: “The minister should take the policy review to the National Council on Education (NCE), the highest policy making organ on education maters.”
AFED’s calls for caution
President, Association for Educational Development (AFED), Mr. Emmanuel Oji, said the question of raising the minimum age is complex: “It requires careful consideration of a range of factors, including student readiness, availability of alternative education pathways and the potential impact on a student’s educational and career opportunities.
“There were arguments for reviewing the minimum age for university admission as it could potentially ensure that students are more emotionally and intellectually mature, and better prepared for the rigours of higher education.
“On the other hand, there are arguments for maintaining the lower age limit, as it allows students to pursue higher education at a younger age, potentially giving them more time to develop their skills and knowledge.
“Maturity is a complex and multi-faceted concept and that not all 16-year-old students may be equally prepared for university education. Some may be emotionally and intellectually ready, others may still need more time to develop their skills and knowledge. It may be difficult to generalise about the maturity level of all 16-year-old students.
“What happens to millions of 16 years students that write WASSCE yearly? This is a challenging question and one that may depend on how the policy is implemented. If the minimum age for university admission is raised to 18, then 16-year-old students who are ready for higher education may need to pursue alternative pathways, such as vocational education or gap years, until they are eligible for university admission.
“If the policy is not implemented in a way that takes into account the needs and aspirations of younger students, it could potentially have a negative impact on their educational and career prospects.
“Overall, the question of reviewing the minimum age for university admission is complex and requires careful consideration of a range of factors, including student readiness, the availability of alternative education pathways, and the potential impact on students’ educational and career opportunities.”
Age limit targeted at the poor, says ASUU
Coordinator, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Lagos Zone, Prof. Adelaja Odukoya, said: “If there is a prayer that Nigerians of all religious persuasions need to offer fervently, it is that God should save this nation from the ‘dummy governing class’ that manages its affairs.
The idea of raising the entry age into university to 18 years is characteristic of the Nigerian governing elite harvesting and super-imposing foreign ideas without interrogation of the ‘why and how’ before uncritically copying them.
“Why it may be argued that the average age of entering university in USA, for instance, is 18 years, does it not stand to reason that this is because they run a difference educational system where students go to college for Advanced level before entering the university?
“Rather than waste precious time on ludicrous ideas like this, government should concentrate its energies and resources on fixing education in the country by adequately funding the sector and making it the bedrock of national transformation, pay all outstanding salaries of academics in the universities, settle the over four years promotion arrears and sign the renegotiated agreement with ASUU.
“In Nigeria where the Advanced Level/HSC has been cancelled, is the minister saying students who complete their secondary school education at the age 16 should use the two years gap as yahoo boys or bandits? What is the empirical and scientific basis of this unfortunate proposition?
“The truth is that the government in line with the dictate of its imperialist patrons at the World Bank and IMF is desperate to devise strategies to shut out Nigerian youths from gaining university education.
“The World Bank and IMF are resolutely against Nigeria production of thinkers and inventors the bedrock of all development, which is what university education, represents but prefers Nigeria embrace of vocational education, which represents the ‘hewers of woods and fetchers of water.’”
Parents’ forum backs FG, but…
The Nigeria Parents Forum (NPF) said that it is mindful of importance of learner’s readiness in successful curriculum implementation and shall back the 18-year age limit but with a caveat that the development of gifted children or children who have demonstrated capacity to cope should not be held back with the age-limit rule.
Its National Coordinator, Chief Monday Eze, urged the drivers of the National Policy on Education not to single out university admission for this sort of policy: “They should set age limits for admission into primary and secondary schools as well.” He tasked the Federal Ministry of Education to do a comparative analysis of what is obtainable in the educational settings of other countries before teeing off with this proposal.
He recalled incident of a 16-year-old boy who passed JAMB a few years ago but was denied admission by JAMB: “Universities in Ghana, United Kingdom, United States and other parts of the world offered the boy university admissions.
“The age-limit rule became unpopular in the comity of nations that condemned it. Consequently, the zeal of the enforcers of the rule became dampened. It is even doubtful that this somnolent resurrection of the policy will make any impact.”
‘Age limit shouldn’t be our problem’
Chief James Nwafor, a retired senior civil servant in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, wondered why there is much fuss over age limit for university admission as if it was the main problem of the nation: “How does the age of a child entering tertiary institutions become the problem of Nigeria? Is it not the mental capacity of children that are of importance in academics? What has age got to do with the ability to read and understand?
“People are not equally talented (physically and mentally). Those gifted should not be slowed down because of the disadvantaged ones. The progress of children in education/academics should be left to the school heads; headmasters, principals, VCs and guidance and counsellors.
“There must have been a deliberate attempt to slow down certain segments of the country in the interest of the others. Our policies always meant to favour some to the detriment of others.”
Don agrees with minister
Prof. Christian Ezeibe, Associate Dean, Students Affairs, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), said: “I agree with the minister. Age has a significant impact on the learning and learning outcome among the young ones.
“Age also has a relationship with the choices that young ones make in the university. For example, if you give a child of 14-year and 18-year a work to do you, will realise the effect of their age differences on the results of the work they submitted.
“At certain age, people tend to know better what they want in life than when they are under 18. They make better decisions and they approach their education with maturity and a mature mind.
“However, there is a relationship between what the minister is saying concerning higher institutions’ entry age and the prospect of better learning and quality university education in Nigeria.
“But it is not enough for you to say that you will not admit anybody below the age of 18 in a higher institution because there are people who are going to be less than 18-year who are already in secondary schools now.
“If such policy must be implemented, it should not just start from tertiary institutions. Government should first introduce the policy from the basic education, and change the 6-3-3-4 system of education. Or still, make it compulsory that one must attain certain age before he or she will be admitted into primary school.
“You can’t build a mansion in the sky. You must start from a foundation. People are already in secondary school and others are already writing WAEC and JAMB. Are you going to tell them to wait till they turn 18 before they can be admitted into the higher institution?
“The truth remains that the influence of information technology on the younger generation has propelled them to be faster than their age. They are more exposed than we are during our time. Therefore we cannot completely say that at less the 18-year of age that they are not matured enough to be admitted in higher institution.
“Entry age is not the problem of tertiary education in Nigeria. Mind you, before it will work, it has to be a long process. There has to be a by-law that will back it up.
“When you go to countries like Canada, USA and UK, you will see young people who are PhD holders, engineers, software developers at a very tender age.
“The emphasis should not be entry age for now. Rather, government should solve the problems in the educational sector and ensure quality and affordable education for all Nigerians, as well as stability of academic calendar especially in public institution.”
Mr. Celestine Okwudili, Proprietor, OCO World Academy, Nsukka, Enugu State, said: “Government should be more concerned about making school environment very conducive for teaching and learning instead of regulating the entry age into higher institutions.
“It will be an advantage for one to enter university at a tender age. It is a good opportunity to nurture and instil moral values in them that will guide them in their academic journey.
“Trends in society today demand that you don’t give your children much space. You must engage them positively, or else they will engage themselves and get exposed to societal ills. Therefore, waiting until the age of 18 to enter university will potent danger to young ones.
“Government should review the education curriculum to accommodate them. They should not introduce policies that would discourage the young ones from taking responsibility and breaking barriers.
“Mark Zuckerberg was just 19 when he founded Facebook. Bill Gates was 19 when he dropped out of Harvard to create Microsoft. Government should through higher institutions create a competitive environment for young ones to showcase their potentialities.”
Unresolved issues
Before Federal Government begins the implementation of 18 years age limit for admission, it must address the issue of double promotion in schools, especially private schools. Most of the “under-aged” students got double promotion.
Government must come up with a uniform primary and secondary school age nationwide. There are nine- year old pupils is in JSS1 and 13 or 14 in SS3. Since the age limit is a major policy review, government should take to the NCE for deliberation and approval.
But the big question remains: What happens to “under-aged” students writing the UTME and the over two millions expected to sit for 2024 WASSCE and SSCE?