The move by the Senate Committee on Basic Education to amend the law establishing the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to limit the age of candidates writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to 16 years and above should be handled with caution.
The Vice Chairman of the committee, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, revealed this during the committee’s visit to JAMB. According to the Committee, candidates should not be admitted into the university below the age of 18 as age has a lot to do with their learning ability.
“If the products from the secondary schools are not properly catered for to be assessed before turning them into the university, definitely you will have a problem,” Eyakenyi stated.
The argument to peg the age at which students can write the UTME by the senators is probably based on the fact that at 16, they will be physically and emotionally mature for studies in the university. Besides, some people have opined that the prevailing high incidence of indiscipline and anti-social activities in higher institutions of learning has a lot to do with the age of students on campus. On account of their relative young age, the students are more vulnerable to corruptive influences as they lack the capacity for discernment.
On the surface, the argument looks appealing. There is no doubt that university education requires certain level of maturity to cope with the academic rigours. At the same time, it is worth noting that times have changed. Due to good nutrition and other factors, children of these days are early bloomers. To peg the admission age at 18 may prevent gifted children from attaining the level they are aspiring to.
The era of information technology has made it possible for brilliant students even at 16 to accomplish what adults of 24 years could not have attained 20 years ago. Pegging the age limit for admission will limit the gifted children from realising their intellectual endowments.
Different universities have specific rules guiding their admission processes, which JAMB merely harmonises. Its major function is to conduct the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination for prospective students into Nigerian universities and other tertiary institutions such as monotechnics, polytechnics, and colleges of education. JAMB lacks the capacity to deny someone admission on the basis of age.
There are students who at 16 are coping with the challenges of the university system. The problem in the universities today is not essentially with the age of the students but absence of mentorship or failure by the various segments of the society charged with the child’s upbringing.
Rather than deny students admission on the basis of age, government can establish special schools for the exceptionally bright and gifted children to actualise their academic dreams. The environment should be made conducive for the students, especially the gifted ones and high fliers to excel. Since the various universities have their individual rules for admission, including age requirements, there is no need altering the existing arrangement.
Insisting on changing the current order will encourage parents and guardians to alter the actual age of their children and wards. Age should not be a barrier for acquiring university education. Gifted children should not be punished or limited for being brilliant. Pegging the admission age at 18 will unduly delay some students before they could be admitted into the varsity. Within that period, talents would be lost and the students could be vulnerable to negative influences. Instead of frustrating exceptionally bright students with the stringent age limitation, there are better ways of encouraging them without lowering the standards. The maxim that age is a thing of the mind remains instructive in this instance.
The lawmakers should leave the JAMB Act the way it is and concentrate on making laws that will ensure equity and good governance in the country. The issue of age for matriculation examination should be determined by the varsities and other tertiary institutions. Limiting the early bloomers will neither be in their interest nor that of the society.