The federal government has announced that underage students will no longer be eligible to participate in the National Examinations Council (NECO) and West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exams.
Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, revealed this during an interview on Channels Television’s ‘Sunday Politics’ program. He clarified that the government has directed NECO and WAEC, the bodies responsible for organizing the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), to enforce an age limit of 18 years for all candidates.
Prof. Mamman emphasized that this age restriction also applies to students taking the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), managed by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
“It is 18 years,” Mamman stated. “We have given this year as a grace period to notify parents, allowing students under the age of 18 to take the exams. However, from next year, JAMB will strictly enforce the 18-year age requirement for university admissions in Nigeria.”
The minister reiterated that this is not a new policy but a long-standing rule, explaining that the traditional progression through Nigeria’s education system typically results in students being at least 17 and a half years old by the time they complete their secondary education.
“We are not introducing a new policy,” he clarified. “We are merely reinforcing an existing one.”
From now on, NECO and WAEC will deny students who have not met the required age or have not spent the necessary number of years in school the opportunity to sit for these critical exams.
Prof. Mamman did acknowledge the possibility of creating exceptions for exceptionally gifted students but cautioned that such provisions might be misused.
“We recognize that some students are highly talented and may progress faster,” he said. “This is a conversation for another time, but we must be careful. In our country, what starts as a small exception often becomes widespread practice.”
