The Federal Ministry of Education has clarified that there is no ban on students under 18 years old taking the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination or the National Examinations Council exams.
Dr. Yusuf Sununu, the Minister of State for Education, provided this clarification in Abuja on Friday during an event celebrating the 2024 International Literacy Day.
He addressed the confusion and misinterpretation of recent statements made by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, which he described as unfortunate.
Sununu explained that the minister’s comments were specifically about the 18-year age requirement for entry into tertiary institutions, as outlined in the 6:3:3:4 education system, and not about restricting younger students from participating in these exams.
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“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,” he said.
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