The Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, has approved 16 years as the minimum age for admission into tertiary institutions for the 2024/2025 academic session.
Initially, the minister had set the admission age at 18, but reversed the decision following protests from stakeholders at the 2024 policy meeting organized by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
The minister’s change of stance came after it was pointed out that students under 18 had already registered, taken, and passed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and were awaiting admission.
The meeting, held on Thursday in Abuja, included the JAMB Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, vice chancellors, registrars, and other stakeholders.
Leading the motion against the minister’s earlier decision, Professor Kayode Ijiadunola, supported by other heads, registrars, and admission officers, 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 exams? We reject 18 years as the minimum age requirement and are proposing 16 years,” he stated.
The proposal received overwhelming support, prompting the JAMB Registrar to question the rush of parents and candidates.
“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,” Professor Oloyede remarked.
Responding, the minister 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, Professor Oloyede added, “We thank the minister for conceding, but from next year we will enforce it.”
Earlier in his address as the chairman of the 2024 Joint Admissions Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) policy meeting on Education, Professor Mamman had called for the enforcement of 18 years as the new minimum admission age for entry into tertiary institutions in the country.
