Why FG’s ban on Under-18 SSCE misses the mark on education reform

The Federal Government’s decision to ban candidates under 18 Nigerians from sitting for the National Examination Council (NECO) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) raises more questions than it answers.

Ostensibly, the idea is aimed at preventing underage students from gaining admission into any higher institutions in the country to ensure they are ‘mature’ to handle the stress and struggle that come with university and polytechnic education.

However, this decision has generated widespread criticism as many critics described it as a misplaced priority because a country with over 18.3 million out-of-school children should ideally be focusing its energy and policy on taking out-of-school kids off the streets.

It is quite ironic that the Federal Government is concerned about young Nigerians gaining admission into universities early while millions of under-18 Nigerians roam the streets, hawking, begging, and loitering at motor parks.

You wonder if the policy is truly about maturity or there’s a deliberate attempt to ensure the next generation is not bright enough to challenge the status quo.

In a country where politicians jettison the public education system they instituted in favour of expensive private universities and prestigious schools abroad, it is shameful and hypocritical to restrict young Nigerians with the intellectual capacity to excel in tertiary institutions access to university education simply because they are under 18.

The policy is absurd, to say the least. It is more ludicrous when you remember that, in this same country, underage marriage is legal in many areas, but university education is where the government decides to draw the line for teenagers.

This bizarre policy highlights the mindset with which the government views the capability of the so-called leaders of tomorrow. It sends a ridiculous signal that a teenager is mature enough for marriage but not old enough to face campus challenges.

While defending and justifying the policy, the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, in a recent interview said the policy, which is predicated on the idea that a child’s primary education must start at the age of six, is not the initiative of the current administration.

“For the avoidance of doubt, this is not a new policy; this is a policy that has been there for a long time,” the minister said.

Yes, this policy has been around as far back as the 1980s, when the government introduced the 6–3–3–4 education system. It was this system that made it mandatory that every child’s education must begin at the age of six.

Even after the 6–3–3–4 system had been abandoned in favour of the 9–3–4 structure, Prof Mamman still wants Nigeria to take a huge step backward by enforcing a fraction of a policy the country had already done away with.

As a former Vice Chancellor and ex-director-general of the Nigerian Law School, Nigerians expect Prof Mamman to, instead of creating barriers, come up with ideas that would complement the student loan initiative and create more opportunities that would encourage access to education for young Nigerians regardless of age.

It is not a big ask for the government to concentrate its efforts on making education attractive for out-of-school children, which is their fundamental human right, and equip all schools to match up with world standards.

Nigerians' reaction to the policy reinforces the sentiment that the ban on Under-18 from writing WASSCE and NECO exams is a preposterous approach to education reform.

So, rather than impeding the academic development of young minds with distasteful policies, the government should redirect and commit its resources to nurturing and encouraging the so-called underage students to flourish in a system that values their potential.

*Pulse Editor's Opinion is the opinion of an editor at Pulse. It does not represent the views of the organisation Pulse.