The federal government has officially set the minimum age for admission into the country’s tertiary institutions at 16 years.
The government also cautioned that any admission carried out outside the Central Admission Processing System, CAPS, would be deemed illegal, and those responsible would face prosecution.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, stated this on Tuesday while opening the ongoing Policy Meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, in Abuja.
”This policy decision reflects a balance between cognitive maturity and academic preparedness. 16 years is non-negotiable,” he said.
He noted that provisions existed for clearly documented and justified exceptions like gifted children with accelerated educational progress.
He warned institutions against attempting to circumvent the rule by altering age records, stressing that such acts would attract sanctions.
The minister also unveiled new measures to curb the scourge of examination malpractices, which he described as a “cancer” undermining merit and eroding confidence in Nigeria’s education system.
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He announced the establishment of a Central Examination Malpractice Unit within the Federal Ministry of Education, noting that this would be chaired by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Abel Enitan.
He added that this unit would serve as a national clearing house for documenting and reporting malpractices cases across all levels of education.
”This central database will be accessible to all institutions. It is our hope that this will reduce the tendency to engage in malpractices, as offenders will be appropriately tried under the Exam Malpractices Act,” the minister said.
He also confirmed the government’s support for WAEC and NECO to adopt computer-based testing to curb malpractices.