The Federal Government has justified its decision to bar students under 18 from taking the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), attributing the move to parents pushing their children too quickly through the education system.
In July, Education Minister Tahir Mamman announced that, starting in 2025, candidates below 18 would be ineligible for the SSCE. While the minister stated that the decision aligns with national laws, it sparked widespread criticism.
Speaking on Thursday at an Inter-Ministerial Press Briefing in Abuja, Mamman reiterated the policy’s long-term benefits for the country, standing firm on the ban despite the backlash.
He said, “Our laws, the Universal Basic Education Act and the Minimum Standards Policy Act established in 1993 prescribed specific age limits and provisions for every level of education: six years in primary school, three years in junior secondary school, three years in senior secondary school, and then five to six years before primary school (in pre-primary school). A child is expected to enter school at the age of six.
“But what has been happening is that our parents have been in a hurry. They frog jump their children, get them into school at the age of four, skip level six at primary school, and also skip level six at secondary school. So they finish quite too young.
“Now, what we have done is that with the type of curriculum that we have introduced, we need them to be in place as prescribed by the acts.”
According to him, the ministry is only implementing already existing laws and not introducing new ones as many are speculating.
He said, “Those two acts that I have mentioned, we need them to be in place [for them] to learn and acquire knowledge and skills. I remember these acts are not the ones prescribed by the government. They were not enacted during this government’s time.
“This is an act that was established in 1993. The 6-3-3-4 came into being around 1982. So, this policy is already a very, very old policy. All that the Ministry
“All that the Minister of Education did is say, ‘Ok, we come back to implementing these policies so that students can remain in school and learn skills so that when they finish, they will be able to be engaged productively, even if they don’t go to college education or universities, they will have skills that they can be employed with or be even self-employed’.”