Nigeria’s newly appointed Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has announced the abolition of the 18-year admission benchmark for tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
Alausa unveiled the policy shift during his inaugural press conference held in Abuja on Wednesday.
However, the Minister said the Federal Government’s would continue to maintain its decision to annul over 22,700 degree certificates obtained by Nigerians from certain “fake” universities in neighboring Togo and Benin Republic.
Last August, former Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, said that Nigeria officially banned individuals under the age of 18 from participating in the National Examinations Council (NECO) and West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exams.
According to Tahir, the government had already instructed WAEC, which conducts the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), and NECO, which oversees the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), to enforce the 18-year age requirement for exam candidates. He emphasized that this directive is not a new policy but a reaffirmation of existing regulations.
However, after several debates, the Federal Government exempted exceptionally intelligent students who are below the age of 18 from the ban on underage individuals taking the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and National Examination Council (NECO).
