The Nigerian government has banned students under 18 from taking the National Examinations Council and West African Examinations Council tests.
Professor Tahir Mamman, Nigeria’s Education Minister, mentioned during a Channels Television show on Sunday, August 25, that WAEC and NECO have been instructed to make sure that candidates meet the minimum age requirement of 18.
The minister clarified that this rule is not a recent one but has been in place for a considerable period.
Mamman 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.
“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.”
