The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman has revised his decision regarding the admission age of undergraduates to 18 years following protests from stakeholders at the ongoing Policy meeting organized by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB. Mamman has agreed that Heads of tertiary institutions may consider admitting candidates who are 16 years of age into their institutions. This decision was made in light of the fact that students under the age of 18 have already registered, sat for, and passed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and are awaiting admission.
Leading the motion, Vice Chancellor of Elizade University, Prof. Kayode Thadius Ijiadunola, who received significant support from other heads, registrars, and admission officers attending the policy meeting, proposed 16 years as the minimum age requirement for admission into tertiary institutions. He argued that it is unfair to those who have already written and passed their exams this year to be excluded based on the previous age requirement of 18 years.
The hall resounded with support for the proposal of 16 years as the minimum requirement for admission. In response, the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, questioned the urgency of parents and candidates to push for admissions at such a young age. During the 2024 Joint Admissions Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) policy meeting on Education held in Abuja, the Minister of Education chaired the event.
He proposed the enforcement of 18 years as the new minimum admission age for tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Following this announcement, stakeholders representing various tertiary institutions expressed their resistance, leading to a raucous session. In response to the stakeholders’ concerns, the minister acknowledged their viewpoint. He emphasized the importance of upholding the 6-3-3-4 system of education, as prescribed by law. Despite this, the minister agreed to allow the exception for the current year, acknowledging that students were not informed of the change in advance. JAMB Registrar, Prof Oloyede, expressed gratitude to the minister for his flexibility but affirmed that the enforcement of the new minimum admission age would be implemented from the following year. This decision was met with applause from the attendees. “Are we in agreement on this matter?” However, the stakeholders adamantly replied in the negative. Undeterred by their response, the minister proceeded with his address, justifying the decision to set the new admission benchmark at 18.
