UTME 2024: Minister makes U-turn, succumbs to 16 years minimum admission age
By Uji A. ILIYASU
Abuja
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has approved 140 as the minimum admissible score into the universities in the country, and 100 for polyrechnics and colleges of education. He further directed that only candidates above 18 years are to be admitted into higher institutions of learning.
This was contained in the JAMB Registrar’s speech at the 2024 policy meeting in Abuja on Thursday.
Minister of Education Professor Tahir Mamman who had earlier in his speech, directed the institutions not to admit candidates below the age of 18 years as required by JAMB, made a U-turn due to stakeholders’ protest at the policy meeting towards the end of the meeting.
The minister has, after the protest, granted approval for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and Nigerian tertiary institutions to admit candidates from the age of 16.
The policy meeting is a forum for critical stakeholders in the admission processes into tertiary institutions in the country to deliberate on admission guidelines. The participants include vice chancellors, registrars, rectors and provosts of Nigerian institutions of learning as well as principal officers of monotechnics.
The minister had, earlier in his speech, directed the institutions not to admit candidates below 18 years, whivh drew loud grumbles from the audience consisting mainly of heads of tertiary institutions, registrars, and their admission officers.
“JAMB is hereby instructed from admission this year to admit only eligible students. That is those who have attained 18 years by our laws,” he had earlier stated.
“Our laws require students to be in school from six years —Yes, there are those who do that from five—, and remain in primary school for six years, basic education for three years, and secondary school for three years… It doesn’t require a statement of the minister… we are only restating what is in the law,” he added.
However, while considering the memorandum for the 2024 policy meeting on this year’s admissions, heated arguments ensued over the minister’s directive on underage admissions.
The representative of Elizade University moved the motion for objection, and
called for the adoption of 16 years as many of those categorised underage candidates have already taken the UTME without anticipating the directive.
But the JAMB registrar, Professor Oloyede, who convened the meeting said it was not a new policy or directive.
The minister, however, succumbed and agreed that candidates from the age of 16 be admitted and the meeting approved it.
“For practical reasons, we will go with that,” Mr Mamman said, finally drawing applause and cheers from the audience.