The Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman announced on Thursday at the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) policy meeting in Abuja that candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria must be eighteen (18) years and above.
This announcement was greeted with strong protests by Vice Chancellors and other stakeholders. However, after consultations with the stakeholders, JAMB Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede said, “At the time they (candidates) were taking the examinations, they were not aware. So if we want to enforce it then it should be for subsequent years.”
The stakeholders agreed that candidates who are 16 years old would be considered for admission into tertiary institutions for the 2024 academic year, however, the entry age would be 18 years from the next academic year.
The Minister also revealed at the meeting that a new curriculum for secondary schools across Nigeria will be implemented by September 2024. The minister stated that the curriculum development process has been ongoing for the past year, with a stakeholders meeting scheduled for August 6, 2024.
“We are working hard to ensure that a new curriculum is introduced for secondary schools by September,” he stated.
“Our plan is to have this programme implemented in all schools, both public and private, by September,” Mamman added.
The JAMB policy meeting is an annual event where stakeholders from the various tertiary institutions in the country sit to make decisions on the current and coming year.
Stakeholders present at the meeting are heads of regulatory agencies such as the National University Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the National Council for Colleges of Education (NCCE).
