The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman gave the directive on Monday during a monitoring exercise of the ongoing 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Bwari, Federal Capital Territory.
He decried the activities of some parent, who were pressuring their underage students to get admission into tertiary institutions. The minister said that the 18-year benchmark is in line with the 6-3-3-4 system of education.
“The minimum age of entry into the University is 18, but we have seen students who are 15, and 16 years going in for the entrance examination.
“Parents should be encouraged not to push their wards too much. Mostly, it is the pressure of parents that is causing this.
“We are going to look at this development because the candidates are too young to understand what the whole university education is all about.
“This is the period when children migrate from a controlled to an uncontrolled environment; when they are in charge of their affairs.
“But, if they are too young, they won’t be able to manage properly. I think that is part of what we are seeing in the Universities today,” he said.