The Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, has submitted that the federal government never stopped students who are not up to 18 years old from writing the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), and the National Examinations Council (NECO) exams.
Speaking on Friday in Abuja while fielding questions from journalists at an event to mark the 2024 International Literacy Day (ILD), Sununu said there is a public misconception about the position of the government.
Naturenex recalls the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, on August 25th, disclosed that the Federal Government has instructed the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), and the National Examinations Council (NECO), not to allow underage children to write their examinations.
However, Sununu clarified that what the Minister said was different from what the public understood.
According to him, the Minister was actually speaking on the minimum entry age into tertiary institutions, which must be 18 years as provided for in the 6:3:3:4 system of education which Nigeria practices.
While decrying the rate of underage university admissions in the country, the Minister of State also expressed disappointment with the public misunderstanding of Prof. Tahir’s statement, adding that the new policy is also a work in progress.
“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.
“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,” Sununu said.
