Federal Government Enforces 18-Year Age Requirement for Tertiary Admission and Exams

The Federal Government has mandated that candidates must be 18 years old before gaining admission into tertiary institutions. This was announced by Education Minister Tahir Mamman during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

The Minister stated that the government has instructed WAEC and NECO to prevent underage children from taking their exams. He clarified that candidates must be 18 years old to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

“At the meeting we had with JAMB in July, we agreed to allow it this year as a notice to parents that JAMB will admit students below that age, but starting from next year, JAMB will require all university applicants in Nigeria to be 18 years old. Just to clarify, this is not a new policy; it has been in place for a long time,” Mamman said.

He explained that the education system’s structure means students will be around 17 and a half years old by the time they are ready for admission, having completed early childhood education, primary school, junior secondary school, and senior secondary school.

Furthermore, NECO and WAEC will no longer permit underage children to take their exams. Mamman emphasized that students must complete the necessary years of study at each level before being allowed to sit for these exams.