Some varsities admit 10 to 12-year-old children, says minister

By : Jimisayo Opanuga

Date: 6 September 2024 6:21pm WAT

Students carry luggage as they leave as directed by authorities of the University of Lagos to halt the spread of Covid-19 on Campus in Yaba, Lagos, on July 15, 2021. - One of Nigeria's largest universities, the University of Lagos (UNILAG), on July 15, 2021, sent residential students home and said it would suspend physical attendance of lectures as fears grow over a new wave of coronavirus in Africa's most populous nation. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)

A student carries luggage across the main gate as students leave as directed by authorities of the University of Lagos to halt the spread of Covid-19 on Campus in Yaba, Lagos, on July 15, 2021. – One of Nigeria’s largest universities, the University of Lagos (UNILAG), on July 15, 2021, sent residential students home and said it would suspend physical attendance of lectures as fears grow over a new wave of coronavirus in Africa’s most populous nation. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)

Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, has said that some universities admit children as young as 10, 11, and 12 years old, adding that “this is totally wrong.”

Sununu made this statement in Abuja on Friday while clarifying the Federal Ministry of Education’s stance on the age requirement for writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and National Examinations Council (NECO) exams.

The minister said that the issue was about the 18-year entry age into tertiary institutions, not the age for writing exams.

Sununu noted that the public’s misconception and misinterpretation of remarks made by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, was highly disappointing.

He explained that the minister was discussing the 18-year entry age into tertiary institutions, as practised in the 6:3:3:4 system of education.

“We have agreed that we are going to consider it as a work-in-progress. The National Assembly is working, and we are also working.

“It was shocking to hear that a university in this country admitted children at ages 10, 11, and 12 years. This is totally wrong.

“We are not saying there are no exceptions. We know there can be talented students with the IQ of an adult even at ages 6 and 7, but these are very few.

“There must be a rule, and the ministry is looking at developing a guideline on how to identify a talented child so that parents do not say we are blocking their children’s chances.

“Nobody said no child will write WAEC, NECO, or any other examination unless they are 18. This is a misconception and misrepresentation of what we have said,” he said.