The Federal Government has declared that it will make 18 years the entry age for students applying to universities, News About Nigeria reports.
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen after monitoring the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in some of the centres in Abuja.
He noted that the government is set to review the age benchmark for admission into Nigerian universities because most of the issues in Nigerian universities are caused by underage students who do not know what university education is about.
He added that when students at the university are too young, it makes it difficult for them to manage their affairs properly because, most of the time, they are leaving controlled environments for the first time.
“The other thing that we noticed is the age of those who have applied to go to the university. Some of them are really too young. We are going to look at it because they are too young to understand what university education is all about.
“That’s the stage when students migrate from a controlled environment where they are in charge of their own affairs. So if they are too young, they won’t be able to manage properly,” he stated.
The Minister, therefore, urged parents not to push their wards and children too much.
He, however, applauded the conduct of the examination, describing it as peaceful, and added that irregularities, which were visibly noticeable in the past, had drastically reduced.
“The examination process is seamless. The environment is comfortable for students. That’s how it should be, especially with the use of technology in our affairs and the educational system. It makes life easy for everybody and seamless,” he added.
