The Federal Ministry of Education has addressed public concerns, stating that there is no policy preventing students under the age of 18 from taking the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) or National Examinations Council (NECO) exams.
Dr. Yusuf Sununu, Minister of State for Education, made this clarification during an event in Abuja on Friday in celebration of the 2024 International Literacy Day.
His statement came in response to questions from journalists regarding comments that were reportedly misinterpreted.
Sununu expressed disappointment over the widespread misunderstanding of a previous statement made by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman.
According to Sununu, the original remark was about setting 18 years as the minimum age for entry into tertiary institutions, following the guidelines of the 6:3:3:4 educational system.
He said : “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 age 6 and 7, 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.
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