A Chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party, (NNPP), Ambassador Olufemi Oguntoyinbo, has called on the Federal Government to review its policy of pegging the minimum age for candidates to write Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSCE), at 18 years.
Ajadi, noted that pegging the age for writing SSCE at 18 will surely slow the progress of millions of children who are already at Senior Secondary School, (SSS1) and (SSS2) and who are going to be I SSS 3 at ages below 18 years.
Recall that Professor Tahir Mamman, Nigeria’s Minister of Education, recently announced a policy setting the minimum age for writing the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) at 18 years, starting from 2025.
Ajadi, in a statement he personally signed and made available to journalists on Saturday said until recently, the age requirement for participating in the Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), being conducted by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), was 16 years, wondering why the Federal Government hastily come up to alter the age requirements for the examination.
He agreed with many education stakeholders who saw the decision as regressive and failing to consider modern education realities.
“The new age limit, rather than enhancing education in Nigeria, risks hindering students’ progress and diminishing the quality of education in Nigeria”.
“The government should maintain the minimum age for SSCE at 16 years, this has been the practice over the years and it is a more balanced and sustainable approach.
“It allows academically ready students to progress to tertiary education without delay while ensuring those who need more time to take their steps gradually.
“Setting the minimum age for SSCE at 18 years is out of order with the global trend towards encouraging early academic achievements.
“Many students, particularly those who are gifted or started school early, complete secondary education well before turning 18.
“Imposing an age limit would be unfair to these students, forcing them to wait unnecessarily, which is both a waste of time and an impediment to their academic and professional growth.
“Policy changes should not be hurriedly carried out. Moreso, education is not on the Exclusive List. It is on the Concurrent List.
“Federal Government needs to contact and meet with the state governors before arriving at policy changes on education.
“We have state secondary schools aside the Federal Government schools. The school certificate examinations being conducted by the West Africa Examinations Council, (WAEC), is not only for Nigerian students but for other West African countries.
“Why must we peg the age at 18 years while other countries write at a lower age?,” he queried.
