Education Minister Tahir Mamman announced that underage candidates will no longer be allowed to take secondary school exams, with a strict age limit of 18 years for WAEC, NECO, and JAMB exams. This policy, reaffirming existing rules, aims to ensure students meet the required age based on their educational timeline.

Education Minister Tahir Mamman has announced that underage candidates will no longer be permitted to take secondary school leaving examinations. He made this statement on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics program.

Mamman clarified that the Federal Government has directed the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), which administers the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), and the National Examinations Council (NECO), which conducts the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), to enforce an age limit of 18 years for candidates eligible for these exams.

The minister also emphasized that the age limit for candidates taking the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), administered by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), remains 18 years. He explained, “The age limit is 18 years. During our meeting with JAMB in July, we decided to allow this year as a transitional period. This will serve as a notice to parents that JAMB will accept students below this age this year. However, starting next year, JAMB will strictly enforce the 18-year age requirement for university admissions in Nigeria.”

Mamman stressed that this is not a new policy but a reaffirmation of an existing one. He elaborated that, based on the standard educational timeline, students typically complete their primary, junior secondary, and senior secondary education by the age of 17 and a half, making 18 the appropriate age for university entry.

He further clarified that NECO and WAEC will no longer allow underage candidates to take their examinations. He noted, “If a student has not completed the required number of years at their current level of study, NECO and WAEC will not permit them to sit for the exams.”

Mamman also provided a detailed breakdown of the educational timeline. Early childhood education should last for the first five years. Students typically begin primary school at age six, spend six years in primary education, move to junior secondary school at age 12 for three years, advance to senior secondary school at age 15 for another three years, and are expected to start university at age 18.