Nigerian teachers under the aegis of the Nigerian Union of Teachers have condemned the Federal Government’s decision to ban under-18 candidates from sitting for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the National Examination Council.
It would be recalled that the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, announced on Monday that the Nigerian government had instituted a new age policy for secondary school leaving examinations, setting the minimum age at 18.
He had said the directive also affected the West African Examinations Council, which administers the WASSCE, and the National Examinations Council responsible for the SSCE.
It was also revealed that to undertake the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, overseen by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, a candidate will have to be 18-years of age.
However, the Secretary-General, NUT, Dr Mike Ene, in an interview with PUNCH, said that changes in society, like early enrollment in crèches due to economic pressures, made it unrealistic to restrict learning based on age.
“The only way this policy could work is if it’s implemented from the foundation. By that, I mean starting at the primary school level. In the past, before a child was allowed to start school, they had to pass a basic test — like reaching their hand over their head to touch the opposite ear. If they couldn’t, they were sent back home.”
“However, things have changed. Nowadays, due to economic pressures, parents enroll their children in crèches early, which means both parents have to work,”
“Teachers at these crèches begin to educate the children, and they start learning quickly. You can’t stop them from learning because the brain is structured to keep developing—once learning stops, the brain stagnates.”
He refered to the policy as poorly conceived.
“You also have to consider exceptional students. Some students are 16 years old in SS3. Is the minister taking these scenarios into account? What are these students supposed to do? Wait two more years? I see this as a policy that could lead to numerous legal challenges. The government needs to rethink this thoroughly. It is poorly conceived.” he noted.
Egalitarian Voice earlier reported that the education Minister argued that it takes up to 18-years for a child to be ready for tertiary institution admission.
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