By Francis Ewherido
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) recently announced a change in the minimum age requirement for admission for the 2024/2025 academic session. The immediate past Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman, had insisted that from 2024/2025 session, the minimum age for admission into Nigerian universities will be 18 years. I was one of those vehemently opposed to it for the following reasons: One, even if you must implement a policy that has been in the coolers, you should give people time. I suggested a minimum of three years moratorium. Two, I felt the policy was not well thought out and it was not based on empirical evidence. Since 1988, I have followed the careers of some people who entered the university at 16 years. Many of them are runaway successes. Those who entered the university at 16 and derailed had other contributory factors, not just age. In my university days, we had students who were above 25 and had spent six or more years doing a four-year course. Some got into the university in their 20s. I maintain that a 16-year-old is good enough to go into the university.
Three, in countries where the minimum entry age to get into the university 18 years, they make provisions for specially gifted students. Nigeria has many geniuses especially because our harsh environment which means that people have to put in more efforts and only the fittest come through. Consequently, many of our children are geniuses. At 16, they are more than ready for university education. Keeping them at home until 18 years can be counterproductive. Right now, there is no special arrangement for such gifted children. In Europe and America, specially, gifted children get admitted into the university at age 16 and below.
Four, some people speculate that the implementation of the 18 years policy was one of the reasons why the erstwhile Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman, was removed as minister. I don’t know, but honestly, I wondered why a minister in a government that is dealing with so many controversies and challenges will stir up a new one. Sleeping dogs should have been allowed to lie. Anyway, “soldier go, soldier come, barrack remains.” I wish Mamman well in his future endeavours. He has departed but he did not leave with the problems in the education sector. His successor, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has inherited them.
Five, to start with, I will suggest that he leaves implementation of the 18 years entry requirement until the ministry comes up with a wholistic approach. I still do not believe in it anyway. JAMB said 16 years will only apply to the 2024/2025 academic year. What happens subsequently? The new minister needs to tell us. Six, the ministry has to deal with the myriads of problems bedevilling the education sector. There has been some stability since the current government came in, but there are still the occasional threats of strike by one university union or the other. The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of non-teaching staff unions in the universities, started a nationwide indefinite strike on Monday. JAC said the strike is sequel to the non- payment of the four months withheld salaries of its members. The JAC comprises the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU.
The JAC said that President Bola Tinubu’s approved the 50 per cent of the four months withheld salaries to be paid but none of its members had received any payment. Who is withholding their salaries? The new minister needs to quickly resolve this so that the 2024/2025 academic calendar will start on a hitch free note.
I hope the dark age of eight months strike by the Academic Staff of Universities (ASUU) are over, but we need more stability and the JAC strike should be addressed promptly. Parents need their peace of mind. Some parents who can afford to send their children to private universities are now sending their children to government-owned universities. Do not kill their spirit. I am a proud product of a government-owned university, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I still believe in government-owned universities, but let a five-year or four-year course be so.
Also, we live in a fast-changing world. The school curriculum should be fluid so that universities or relevant authorities can adapt to produce employable graduates. We also need to produce graduates who can become entrepreneurs by hitting the ground running after graduation. The number of unemployed graduates is mindboggling. We cannot afford to produce graduates who cannot be self-employed or employable. At the secondary level, the reasons for introducing the 6-3-3-4 system of education have never been achieved. The difference between the 6-3-3-4 and the 6-5-4 it replaced is that the older people spent five years in secondary school, all things being equal, while the students who entered subsequently spent six years in secondary school. The paradigm shift it was meant to achieve has not been realised.
The 6-3-3-4 was meant to enable students exit school after junior or senior secondary school. Then they would have been equipped with the relevant skills to become self-employed or get employment. This has not been the case. The erstwhile minister was billed to launch a new curriculum before he was removed. The new curriculum was not unveiled, so I do not know the contents, but the new minister should ensure that products of junior and senior secondary school fulfil the reason for which the 6-3-3-4 system was introduced. A major part of our population are young people, so we do not have a choice. They have to be gainfully employed and engaged or we are playing with disaster waiting to happen. The level of kidnapping, internet fraud, armed robbery, prostitution, ritual killings and other social vices point to the dangers ahead. We need to act fast.
Education is on the concurrent list. That is, the federal and state governments can establish schools as is currently the case. The minister should collaborate with the various state governments to reduce the number of out-of-school children. The problem is more in the Northern part of Nigeria. It might have some correlation with the high level of insecurity in the North. Collectively, we also need to fight the scourge of underaged girls being forced into marriages. Every girl child should have at least secondary school certificate before marriage. Every adult (people 18 years and above) should either be educated or have basic skills to earn a living. The level of unemployment in Nigeria is worrisome. We need to tackle unemployment before we can make giant strikes in tackling insecurity in Nigeria.
