The President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, has described the proposition by the Federal Government to adopt 18 years as the entry age for admission into universities and offer tertiary institutions of learning as a welcome development.
According to The PUNCH, President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, made the position of the ASUU known in an interview.
He said, “We are in full support. It is the right thing. What the minister said is the correct thing.”
He added, “The issue of age benchmark 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,” Oshodeke explained.
The standard admission age currently set by most tertiary institutions in the country is 16 years unless a candidate is certified as gifted.
In 2021, the Senate announced plans to amend the law establishing the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, to limit the age of a candidate sitting the UTME to 16 years and above.
It would be recalled that on Monday, the minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman said the Federal Government is considering the adoption of 18 years as the entry age for admission into universities and other tertiary institutions of learning.
The minister also accused underage students of being responsible for some of the problems being encountered in higher institutions.
Mamman, who spoke while monitoring the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination in Abuja, cautioned parents against pushing their children and wards ‘too much.
This, he said, would allow them to attain some level of maturity to be able to better manage their affairs.
