The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, revealed on Monday that the Federal Government is contemplating setting the minimum age for admission into universities and other tertiary institutions at 18 years.
As reported by PremiumTimes, this potential policy shift comes amidst concerns over the readiness and maturity of younger students entering higher education.
During his monitoring of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Abuja, Minister Mamman highlighted the challenges posed by underage students in higher institutions.
He cautioned against parents pressuring their children to pursue tertiary education prematurely, emphasizing the importance of allowing students to attain a certain level of maturity before embarking on their academic journey.
“Parents should be encouraged not to push their wards too much. Mostly, it is the pressure of parents that is causing this”.
“We are going to look at this development because the candidates are too young to understand what the whole university education is all about”.
“This is the period when children migrate from controlled to uncontrolled environment, when they are in charge of their own affairs”.
“But, if they are too young, they won’t be able to manage properly. I think that is part of what we are seeing in the Universities today,” he said.
Minister Mamman expressed concern over the presence of students as young as 15 or 16 sitting for the UTME, stating that such early entry into university could lead to difficulties in managing academic and personal affairs effectively. He underscored the need to address this issue to mitigate problems observed within universities.
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