The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman on Thursday declared that candidates under the age of 18 will no longer be eligible for admission into tertiary institutions across the country.
This announcement came during the 2024 policy meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
Mamman specified that starting from the 2024 admissions, a ban is in place for underaged students, defined as those below 18 years old.
The minister said that the 18-year benchmark is in line with the 6-3-3-4 system of education.
“JAMB is hereby instructed from admission this year to admit only eligible students. That is those who have attained 18 years by our laws,” the minister.
He insisted that his position was backed by Nigeria’s law guiding admissions into tertiary institutions. He said it shouldn’t require a statement from him for that to be taken into consideration by admission bodies.
“Our laws require students to be in school from six years – Yes, there are those who do that from five – and remain in primary school for six years, basic education for three years, and secondary school for three years… It doesn’t require a statement of the minister… we are only restating what is in the law,” he added.
Professor Mamman added that for those who will not be able to gain admission into tertiary institutions, the Ministry of Education is taking skills to pupils from primary school.
