Education Minister Says Students Below 18 Years Will No Longer Take WAEC and NECO, Gives Reason

• Nigeria's minister of education has announced that the federal government has issued new guidelines concerning underage students
• The minister indicated that the directive will come into effect starting next year, adding that examination bodies like WAEC and NECO have been notified to comply
• While explaining the rationale behind the directive, the minister said that the policy had existed long before he was appointed to the ministry

Tahir Mamman, Nigeria's minister of education, has revealed that underage students will no longer sit for secondary school leaving certificate exams link the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).

WASSCE is organised annually by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) while SSCE is handled by the National Examination Council (NECO).

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Speaking when he appeared on a Channels Television programme on Sunday, August 25, 2024, the minister said the policy had existed for a long time and was not introduced by him.

Age limit for WAEC and NECO

The minister announced that starting next year, only candidates up to 18 and above will be allowed to sit for WASSCE and SSCE.

The federal government instructed the institutions in charge of the examination to comply with the directive.

The minister said:

“It is 18 (years). What we did at the meeting that we had with JAMB (in July) was to allow this year and for it to serve as a kind of notice for parents that this year, JAMB will admit students who are below that age but from next year, JAMB is going to insist that anybody applying to go to university in Nigeria meets the required age which is 18.

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“For the avoidance of doubt, this is not a new policy; this is a policy that has been there for a long time.

“Even basically if you compute the number of years pupils, and learners are supposed to be in school, the number you will end up with is 17 and a half – from early child care to primary school to junior secondary school and then senior secondary school. You will end up with 17 and a half by the time they are ready for admission.

“So, we are not coming up with new policy contrary to what some people are saying; we are just simply reminding people of what is existing.

“In any case, NECO and WAEC, henceforth, will not be allowing underage children to write their examinations. In other words, if somebody has not spent the requisite number of years in that particular level of study, WAEC and NECO will not allow them to write the examination.”

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Govt fixes age for admission

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government also pegged the age for admission into tertiary institutions at 18.

The minister of education made this known at this year's policy meeting in Abuja on Thursday, July 18.

Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng