The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has described the move by the federal government to peg the admission age into any tertiary institutions in the country at 18 as a welcome development, News About Nigeria reports.
On Monday, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, announced that the Federal Government wants to adopt 18 years as the entry age for admission into not just universities but also other tertiary institutions of learning in the country.
This, according to the minister, is because underage students are usually responsible for some of the problems being encountered in higher institutions.
Speaking on the development, the President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, stated that ASUU is in full support of the move.
He further noted that even though the standard admission age currently in Nigeria is 16, many students gain admission at a young age because the regulators are not doing their work.
Osodeke, like the Minister of Education, also accused underage students of constituting various nuisances in schools because they can’t handle many things due to their age.
The ASUU President said, “We are in full support. It is the right thing. What the minister said is the correct thing. The issue of age benchmarks is not a new thing. It’s just that regulators have not been doing their work.
“In those days, you could not go to primary school if you were not six years old. Then you spend six years and finish at age 12, and then by the time you get to secondary school you spend six years, and then you graduate by 18.”
