Nigeria Education Minister Abolishes 18-Year Age Limit for Tertiary Admissions

Nigeria's newly appointed Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has abolished the controversial 18-year age limit for tertiary school admissions, reverting to a minimum age of 16. This decision aims to enhance access to education for exceptionally intelligent students and support the government's initiative to reduce out-of-school children.

Nigeria's newly appointed Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the removal of the 18-year age limit for tertiary school admissions. This decision comes in the wake of criticism aimed at the previous administration's policy set by former minister Tahir Mamman, which was designed to ensure that only sufficiently mature students could handle the demands of higher education.

The age limit policy, introduced in July, faced backlash from stakeholders who argued that it could hinder exceptional students from pursuing tertiary education. Under the previous guidelines, students who did not meet the required years in primary and secondary education were barred from taking the O’level exams, further complicating access to higher education.

Alausa clarified that while the new limit for general admissions will now be 16 years, there will be no restrictions for students demonstrating exceptional intelligence. He emphasized that maintaining an 18-year age limit was counterproductive to the government's efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria.