Sununu
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The Federal Ministry of Education on Friday denied barring under-18 students from writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WASSCE, and examination conducted by the National Examinations Council, NECO.
According to Dr Yusuf Sununu, the Minister of State for Education, who made the clarification in Abuja speaking to newsmen during an event, marking the 2024 International Literacy Day, ILD, the government at no time said students below the ave of 28 years should not write Examinations conducted by the two bodies.
The clarification follows the announcement by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, on August 25, 2024, that the Federal Government had instructed the West African Examinations Council, WAEC, and the National Examinations Council, NECO, not to allow underage children to write their examinations.
However, Sununu said the minister’s statement was misconstrued by the public, describing it as highly disappointing.
He explained that the minister was referring to the 18 years entry age into the tertiary institutions with regard to the 6:3:3:4 system of education.
“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,” Sununu said.
“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.”
