Students seek review of FG’s 18-year admission eligibility

Some secondary school students who will be affected by the federal government’s decision to revive the policy that bars individuals under the age of 18 from taking part in the National Examinations Council and West African Examinations Council exams have called for a review.

The federal government, through the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, had said the age limit for candidates sitting for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, administered by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), remains set at 18 years.

Umme Abubakar, an SS2 student of Salamatu Hussein Secondary School in Kebbi State, yesterday appealed to the federal government to reconsider the decision that would prevent students below the age of 18 to sit for the WAEC.

Umme, while talking to our correspondent, said it would hurt her education progress.

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She added that she is presently in SS2, hoping to write her WAEC next year by which she is still 17 years.

“If they prevent me from writing that exam, it will definitely hurt my educational progress. I will beg them to halt the decision in the interest of our education pursuit,” she said.

Another student, Comfort Daniel who claimed to be in SS2 at Army Day Secondary School in Birnin Kebbi, also expressed sadness over the decision. She said if the government enforced the decision, she wouldn’t write her WAEC next year.

She called on the government to shelve the decision to save her and many other students from the trauma of truncating their progress in education.

Sumayya Abubakar, an SS3 student of Oxford Secondary School Tudun wada, Zaria, said “Intelligence has nothing to do with age but brain.”

She called for a review of the policy to accommodate young talents longing to meet up with their life aspirations.

Mohammed Mohammed, an SS1 student of Government Secondary School, Zaria noted that in the era of digitisation, age should not be a barrier to acquiring higher education.

Mohammed said that “This generation learns faster than its counterpart of the previous generation, therefore excels rapidly in learning.”

The student urged the National Assembly to prevail on the government to avert the policy that could harm their future.

In Kano, secondary school students also expressed disapproval of the age limit policy.

An SS2 student, Muhammad Shuaib, said the policy will limit access to opportunities for him to further his education.

According to him, “It will be better if the policy can be withdrawn since a lot of students are below that age and that will affect their education life journey.”

He expressed hope that the government would reduce the age limit to 16 or even less.

Also, Fatimah Shaibu, an SS2 student, said she felt the policy might put a stop to her dream of getting her education very fast,

She said the policy was too harsh as the government did not consider the impact on students.

“I have not been in a nice mood since I heard about the policy, which means I have to stay back while my mates write their WAEC and only Allah knows what might happen afterwards,” she added.

Husna Abdullahi, 16, who said she is an SS2 student going to SS3, stated that waiting to be eligible for one year could be a big setback in her academic pursuit.

Husna Ahmad, 15, another SS2 student at ABU Academy, said she was disappointed that she might have to wait for an extra year before she could be eligible to sit for an exam that she can pass even at a younger age.

“I am Munirat Mahuta from Kano Capital School and I am 15 years old in SS1. I am not happy with this decision. It means I cannot sit for WAEC, NECO or JAMB even when I am in SS 3.My appeal is for the government to leave things as they are,” another female student said.

Fatima Imam, an SS1 student, said with this law, many of her classmates will not sit for the exams because they are age mates.

Fatimah Idris, 14-year-old SS2 student in Ilọrin said she received the news with shock and disappointment, adding that a lot of students will just be wasting their time doing nothing.

She called on the federal government to introduce a kind of high school policy as done in the UK for affected students.

According to her “It was shocking and disappointing to me because I had already planned about my progress going forward. I intend to study medicine and now my years of study will be longer even as a female.

“But if there is no change at the end of the day, I intend to now go for JUPEP, which is 18 months and go for direct entry later. I would advise the federal government on the other hand to introduce a kind of high school where one can go and study for a two years cause or vocational education to specialise in a skill”, she added.

Afolabi Feranmi, who expressed concerns, said the years to wait before being eligible for admission can either make or mar students’ academic excellence.

“There are positives and negatives about it, some will start working immediately and can forget everything that they have been taught in school while some people would not bother about doing something meaningful while waiting for an admissible age,” he said.

Feranmi, who is about entering his final class in technical school, said he will continue with internship to maximise the years of waiting for admission.

“I will continue with my internship,” he said.

Adebayo Aminat, JSS 3, Agindigi Junior Grammar school, expressed uncertainty about what she will occupy herself with before being eligible for admission.

“I know it has to do with maturity but it is going to be a complete dynamic for me,” she said.