MINISTER OF EDUCATION REVERSES 18-YEAR AGE LIMIT FOR TERTIARY INSTITUTION ADMISSION
The newly appointed Minister of Education, Olatunji Alausa, has overturned the 18-year minimum age requirement for university admissions that was implemented by his predecessor, Tahir Mamman.
Alausa made the announcement on Tuesday during a press briefing after officially resuming his duties as the country’s education minister. His appointment followed a cabinet reshuffle by President Bola Tinubu, which also saw the removal of Professor Mamman and the reassignment of Yusuf Sununu, the former Minister of State for Education, to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction.
In July, Mamman had issued a directive to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and Nigerian tertiary institutions, instructing them to enforce an 18-year minimum age for all students seeking admission. He justified this policy by referencing the country's education laws, which require children to start school at age six, complete six years of primary education, three years of junior secondary school, and three years of senior secondary school. Mamman had stated that the policy was in line with legal requirements, rather than a personal decision.
However, Minister Alausa has now reduced the minimum age for university admission to 16, with exceptions for "gifted children." In explaining the reversal, Alausa argued that the 18-year age requirement could potentially hinder the federal government's ongoing efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria.