The Federal Ministry of Education says it has not forbidden under-18 years old from writing the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) exams.
Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, made the clarification while speaking to newsmen at an event to mark the 2024 International Literacy Day (ILD) on Friday, September 6.
According to Sununu, the public misconceived a recent statement by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman.
“Nobody said no child will write WAEC, NECO or any other examination unless at age 18. This is a misconception and misrepresentation of what we have said,” he said
He said the minister was actually speaking on the 18 years of entry age into the tertiary institutions as was practiced in the 6:3:3:4 system of education.
“We have agreed that we are going to consider it as a work-in-progress. The National Assembly is working and we are also working. It was shocking to say that a university in this country gave admission to children at ages 10, 11 and 12 years. This is totally wrong.
“We are not saying that there are no exceptions, we know we can have talented students that have the IQ of an adult even at age 6 and 7, but these are very few.
“There must be a rule, and the ministry is looking at developing a guideline on how to identify a talented child, so that parents don’t say we are blocking their children’s chances.”
