The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has overturned the previous decision made by the former education minister regarding the 18-year age limit for admission into tertiary institutions. Alausa made this announcement during his first press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday.
He explained that the original policy was rooted in the structure of the National Policy on Education.
“We are no longer moving forward with the 18-year admission age requirement. We will now adopt a 16-year age benchmark and will be engaging with JAMB and other stakeholders to implement this change,” Alausa said.
He also noted that there would be exceptions for exceptionally gifted students, emphasizing that the 18-year rule is no longer part of the policy.
On the matter of certificates issued by institutions in Benin Republic and Togo, Alausa confirmed that the government’s policy of invalidating such certificates remains in effect. This measure is aimed at curbing the circulation of fraudulent qualifications.
Addressing the issue of out-of-school children, Alausa highlighted it as a top priority for the ministry. He stated that various strategies would be explored to reduce the number of children not enrolled in school.
To this end, the ministry plans to collaborate with the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to introduce conditional cash transfers as incentives to encourage school enrollment.
The minister also mentioned plans to launch nutritional programs to support students’ health, which will contribute to better human capital development in the country.
Dr. Alausa, alongside the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Suwaiba Ahmad, was officially welcomed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Nasiru Sani-Gwarzo, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
