Professor Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education, has revealed plans to enforce a minimum age requirement of 18 years for admission into Nigerian universities, Okay.ng reports.
This announcement came during his oversight of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Abuja.
Addressing concerns about the age of candidates sitting for the entrance examination, Mamman emphasized the need to align the admission criteria with Nigeria’s 6-3-3-4 education system.
“The minimum age of entry into the university is 18, but we have seen students who are 15 or 16 years old going in for the entrance examination,” Mamman stated, highlighting the prevalence of underage candidates.
He urged parents to refrain from exerting undue pressure on their children to pursue university education prematurely, emphasizing that such pressure could lead to students entering higher education before they are adequately prepared.
“Parents should be encouraged not to push their wards too much. Mostly, it is the pressure of parents that is causing this,” Mamman explained.
Expressing concerns about the readiness of underage students for the rigors of university education, Mamman emphasized the importance of maturity and comprehension in navigating academic challenges.
“We are going to look at this development because the candidates are too young to understand what the whole university education is all about,” Mamman added.
