THE Nigeria Union of Teachers has condemned the Federal Government’s decision to ban under-18 candidates from sitting for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the National Examination Council, even as the Academic Staff Union of Universities backed the policy.
Recall that the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, announced the decision of government during a television programme that the Federal Government had instituted a new age policy for secondary school leaving examinations, setting the minimum age at 18.
This means underage candidates will no longer be allowed to sit for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the Senior School Certificate Examination, both crucial for advancing to tertiary education.
The directive also affects the West African Examinations Council, which administers the WASSCE, and the National Examinations Council responsible for the SSCE. Additionally, Mamman confirmed that the age limit to undertake the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, overseen by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, will also be 18.
However, the law sparked criticisms, particularly from university stakeholders, as many of those categorised as underage candidates had already taken the UTME without anticipating the directive. This posed a threat to potential 16 and 17-year-olds, who had already passed the UTME and were seeking admission ito universities.
Following the disapproval, the minister reversed the directive, allowing candidates from 16 years to be admitted into the university as it previously stood until 2025.
However, following the recent pronouncement, National President, ASUP, Mr. Shammah Kpanja, maintained that the decision to allow students under 18 to sit for exams should depend on their abilities, saying that gifted students might not need to spend the full years in school.
He advised the government to focus on critical issues like providing functional equipment in schools, addressing infrastructure deficits and improving teachers’ welfare, rather than on exam age restrictions.
Kpanja stated, “One issue with policy is that if it’s not realistic, it can lead to distorted information. The decision of whether a student should be 18 or younger to sit for exams should depend on the student’s abilities. Some students are exceptionally gifted and don’t need to spend all those years in school if they demonstrate a high level of intelligence.
