The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has hinted that the federal government will review the age requirement for admission into tertiary institutions in the country.
The Minister has pegged 18 years as the benchmark for admission into universities and advised parents not to push their underage wards to seek higher education, especially university education, below the age of 18.
Mamman spoke after monitoring the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in some centers in Abuja today, April 22. He expressed concern over the age of some candidates who applied to write the examination, noting that they were still far below the required age for university admission.
This review is expected to ensure that students are mature enough to handle the academic and social responsibilities of university life, and to reduce the incidence of underage students dropping out of school.