A Nigerian journalist, Dele Momodu, has weighed his thoughts on the Federal Government’s 18 year-age limit for West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations.
On August 26, President Bola Tinubu’s administration mandated that only individuals aged 18 and above could take the National Examination Council Nigeria (NECO) and West African Examination Council (WAEC) exams.
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman stated this when he featured on Channels Television’s ‘Sunday Politics’ program on Sunday night.
Mamman explained that the federal government has directed WAEC, which conducts the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and NECO, which oversees the Senior School Certificate Examination to enforce the 18-year age requirement for candidates wishing to take these exams.
This angered some people who questioned what students who typically graduate from secondary school at the age of 15/16 should do with their time while waiting to be old enough for the university entrance exams.
Momodu who weighed in on the decision highlighted the story of Dr Dorothy Jean Tillman, who, at only 17, became the youngest person to earn a doctoral degree in integrated behavioural health from Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions.
“And Federal Government via Ministry of Education is saying Nigeria children should wait till 18 years before they write WAEC, NECO and JAMB,” the Ovation Magazine publisher pointed out on Instagram.
