The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman on Monday, said the Federal Government is considering the adoption of 18 years as the entry age for admission into universities and other tertiary institutions of learning.
Mamman also said underage students were responsible for some
of the problems being encountered in higher institutions.
Mamman gave the hint while monitoring the ongoing Unified
Tertiary Matriculation Examination in Abuja on Monday.
The minister, however, cautioned parents against pushing
their children and wards “too much,” to allow them to attain some level of
maturity to be able to better manage their affairs.
He said, “The other thing which we notice is the age of
those who have applied to go to the university. Some of them are too young. We
are going to look at it because they are too young to understand what a
university education is all about.
“That’s the stage when students migrate from a controlled
environment where they are in charge of their affairs. So if they are too
young, they won’t be able to manage properly. That accounts for some of the
problems we are seeing in the universities.
“We are going to look at that. 18 is the entry age for
university but you will see students, 15, and 16, going to the examination. It
is not good for us. Parents should be encouraged not to push their wards, or
children too much.”
The minister who commended the Joint Admissions and
Matriculation Board for a seamless examination process, noted that the adoption
of technology had helped in reducing the cases of examination practices.
“Right from screening to those who are here…the examination
process is seamless. The environment is comfortable for students. That’s how it
should be, especially the use of technology in our affairs and the educational
system. It makes life easy for everybody and seamless.
“As we know this examination is going on throughout the
country. It is being monitored everywhere seamlessly and from the report I have
heard, the malpractice level is very low. Just a 100 out of the 1.2m. It has
gone down drastically and believe that it is the use of technology that has
made that happen so this is very good.”
Commenting on the high number of candidates seeking
admission into the limited slots available in tertiary institutions, Mamman
maintained that skills acquisition remains a critical component in preparing
the youths for a brighter future.
“It is not a question of being employed but how many will be
admitted from this set. I think the figure overall on average is about 20 per
cent; universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
“The question you ask is where are the 80 percent? They are
our children, our wards living with us. This is why the issue of skills
acquisition is important because any student who is not able to proceed to
tertiary education should be able to have a meaningful life even after
secondary school, even primary education.
“The only solution to
that is skills; by taking skills right from the time they entered school, for
the primary right through the educational trajectory. Somebody should finish
with one skill or another. That is part of the assumption of the 6-3-3-4.
“It is assumed that by the time a student finishes up to the
JSS level, he will have acquired some skills. If he does not proceed to the
senior secondary level, he will have acquired some skills that will help him
navigate life and cease to be a burden on his parents and society.
“That’s why this skill is just the most important skill for
us now that we are going to drive through the education sector for both public
and private sector to empower the young ones.”
The Minister of State for Education, Dr Tanko Sununu who was
excited the UTME was also ongoing in Saudi Arabia as a result of the standards
set by JAMB’s management, noted that the examination has transcended to a very
high level of objectivity and reliability of results.
“Right from when the candidates arrive, they would be seated
comfortably in the waiting room, screening and other necessary instructions
will be given and they will proceed to do biometrics.
“There are some instructions that will be pushed that even
if you are just coming into contact with a computer for the first time,
provided you have been using the handset or smartphone, that will properly
guide you to have access.
“One of the major things I see here, which is a major
characteristic of online exams, is the speed. The speed in the centre is
excellent; pages are turned when candidates need them without any delay in
booting.
“Also in the exam, there are lots of steps to prevent
examination malpractice, adjacent candidates will be taking different subjects
and even when you are answering the same questions, question number one will be
different from question number two from the next person.
The standard of the exam is commendable. I am not surprised
that JAMB has to go outside Nigeria to go to other countries to conduct exams,
they were in Saudi Arabia and right now the exam is also going (on) in Saudi
Arabia.
“I have not heard people complaining of answers leaked, it
shows that with online exams we can do a lot.”
The standard admission age currently set by most tertiary
institutions in the country is 16 years a candidate is certified as gifted.
In 2021, the Senate announced plans to amend the law
establishing the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, to limit the age of
a candidate sitting the UTME to 16 years and above.
The then Vice-Chairman of, the Senate Committee on Basic
Education, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, indicated during the committee’s oversight
visit to JAMB, said this would prevent under-aged candidates from participating
in the examination to gain admission into universities in Nigeria.
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