The Federal Government has barred individuals under 18 from participating in the National Examinations Council (NECO) and West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exams.
This announcement was made by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, during his appearance on Channels Television’s ‘Sunday Politics’ program.
Mamman clarified that the federal government has instructed WAEC, which conducts the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, and NECO, responsible for the Senior School Certificate Examination, to enforce the 18-year age requirement for exam candidates.
He emphasized that this is not a new policy.
The Minister also reaffirmed that the age limit for candidates taking the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), managed by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), remains at 18 years.
He stated, “It is 18 years. During our meeting with JAMB in July, we agreed to allow students below that age to be admitted this year as a notice period for parents.
However, starting next year, JAMB will strictly enforce the requirement that university applicants in Nigeria must be at least 18 years old.”
He added, “To be clear, this is not a new policy; it has been in place for a long time.
When you calculate the number of years students spend in school—from early child care to primary, junior secondary, and senior secondary school—they should be around 17 and a half years old by the time they are ready for university admission.”
He concluded by stating that NECO and WAEC will no longer permit underage students to take their exams. “If a student has not spent the required number of years at the appropriate educational level, NECO and WAEC will not allow them to sit for the examination,” he said.
 and West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exams. This announcement was made by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, during his appearance on Channels Television’s ‘Sunday Politics’ program.){kind=link}