In a significant policy shift, Minister of Education Professor Tahir Mamman has accepted 16 years as the minimum admission age into tertiary institutions for the 2024/2025 academic session.

This decision was made after stakeholders’ protests during the 2024 policy meeting organized by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

Initially, Professor Mamman had set the admission age at 18. However, he reversed this stance following arguments that many students under 18 had already registered, passed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), and were awaiting admission.

The meeting, held on Thursday in Abuja, included JAMB Registrar Ishaq Oloyede, vice chancellors, registrars, and other stakeholders. Leading the opposition to the minister’s initial pronouncement, Professor Kayode Ijiadunola, supported by numerous heads, registrars, and admission officers, proposed that 16 should be the minimum age requirement for admission.

“What happens to those who have written this year’s exams and passed their exams? We reject 18 years as the minimum age requirement and are proposing 16 years,” Professor Ijiadunola argued.

The proposal was met with widespread support from attendees. JAMB Registrar Professor Oloyede highlighted the need for a practical approach, suggesting that any new age requirement should be enforced from subsequent years. “The only point is they have taken examinations and at that time they were not told or aware, and therefore if we want to enforce it, it should be from subsequent years,” Oloyede said.

Responding to the stakeholders, Professor Mamman agreed to the adjustment for this year. “I can work with that, but I want to remind you of one thing: even that argument cannot stand if we want to go by the law which states 6-3-3-4 as our system of education. It won’t stand, but for practical reasons, for this year, I will allow it to stand.”

Reiterating the minister’s decision amid resounding applause, Professor Oloyede added, “We thank the minister for conceding, but from next year we will enforce it.”

Earlier in his address as the chairman of the 2024 JAMB policy meeting on Education, Professor Mamman had called for the enforcement of 18 years as the new minimum admission age for entry into tertiary institutions in Nigeria.