President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led federal government has pegged the age for admission into tertiary institutions at 18.
Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman, made this known at the ongoing policy meeting in Abuja on Thursday, July 18.
Mamman ordered the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to ensure that only students above the age of 18 are henceforth admitted into tertiary institutions.
As reported by The Nation, the minister said underaged students are responsible for some of the problems in higher institutions.
It was gathered that the stakeholders who turned out their members from across tertiary institutions in the country, voiced resistance which turned the session into a rowdy one.
Stakeholders protested the new minimum admission age into tertiary institutions in Nigeria, The Punch reports.
“JAMB is hereby notified that there is now a ban on underaged students, those under the age of 18 into our tertiary institutions from this 2024 admissions.”
The Minister’s pronouncement was greeted with jeers as stakeholders at the meeting opposed the decision.
The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, had to intervene to restore order to the policy meeting.
The stakeholders had responded with a resounding “No!” after the minister asked “Are we together?”
The policy meeting sets the tone for admissions into tertiary institutions in the country. It is an annual event on education.
The meeting is attended by heads of institutions, registrars, admission officers of tertiary institutions and other stakeholders.
