The policy of pegging the age for admission into higher institutions at 18 in Nigeria is dead on arrival because its implementation would be the bottleneck. Mr Ernest IK Ugwu, former Chairman of the National Association of Private School Proprietors, Enugu State, stated this in Enugu on Wednesday during an interview. He said the recent declaration by the education minister on the policy was for cheap popularity, adding that the policy had been in existence through the country’s 6-3-3-4 education structure.....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
According to him, “What we had expected the minister to tell us is the implementation of the technology to detect age cheats among admission seekers.
“If a child says he is 18, how can one dispute it? The solution lies in the education ministry deploying the age-detection technology.”
Ugwu however supported the age-admission policy. He said, “In the United Kingdom, it is 18 and above for admission seekers. That is why some Nigerian kids below 18 are made to under some A’level courses to attain the age of 18 before proceeding to UK universities.”
He said parents manipulating the ages of their children and wards for admission purposes “are part of the causes of the dwindling factors in Nigeria’s education”.
Quoting him, “Some academic programmes depend on age. Teaching a seven-year-old child about human reproduction doesn’t make sense.
“Telling a child, who hasn’t gone on a holiday outside his family due to age, to write his holiday experience doesn’t work.
“The essence of pegging the age at 18 is for the child to be able to carry the academic load. The foundation is basic.
“Some parents have this pseudo-belief that their children are intelligent. They change schools for them to jump classes, whether deserved or not.
“Today, the basic score for JAMB admission is 140 as against about 280 during our time.
“The government not being able to implement its policies is the problem. For universities to commence operations, the National Universities Commission will approve.
“Today, primary schools are located in family houses without authorisation.”
Ugwu called for the proper regulation of Nigeria’s primary education system to correct the country’s fundamental educational flaws.
