Prohibition of 18-Year-old Candidate from Writing WASSCE, NECO was Misconception -FG Says

The Federal Ministry of Education has made it clear that it has not prohibited students under the age of eighteen from taking the National Examinations Council and the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination.

Dr. Yusuf Sununu, the Minister of State for Education, provided the explanation on Friday in Abuja while answering questions from the media during an event commemorating the 2024 International Literacy Day.

Sununu expressed disappointment over the public’s misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the remarks made by Prof. Tahir Mamman, the minister of education.

According to him, the minister was discussing the 18-year-old admission age to postsecondary institutions, which is in line with the 6:3:3:4 educational system.

“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 say that a university in this country gave admission to children at ages 10, 11 and 12 years. This is totally wrong.

“We are not saying that there are no exceptions, we know we can have talented students that have the IQ of an adult even at ages six and seven, 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 don’t say we are blocking their children’s chances.

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