15-year-old boy sues education ministry, JAMB, NUC over age policy
Master Chinaemere Opara has sued the Federal Ministry of Education, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and the National Universities Commission (NUC) over the government’s policy limiting admissions into Nigerian universities to applicants who are 18 or older.
Opara, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School student, filed the suit through his father, Maxwell Opara, at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1512/2024, seeks to challenge the constitutionality of the policy that bars underage students from gaining university admission, arguing that it discriminates against brilliant young students like Opara, whose rights to education and association are being infringed upon.
Maxwell Opara deposed that his son, currently in SS2, would be directly impacted by the policy, which violates his freedom from age discrimination.
He emphasised that no federal or state law mandates an age limit for university admissions in Nigeria, pointing out that his son plans to sit for his WAEC, NECO, and JAMB exams in 2025.
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The policy, announced by the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, in July, has sparked intense debate among education stakeholders and parents.
Although the Minister initially set the age limit at 18, intense discussions have led to a temporary reduction to 16 years for the current year’s admissions.
Mamman clarified that while the policy aims to regulate university admission ages, it does not affect students sitting for O’level exams.
The ministry also acknowledged that exceptions would be made for students deemed exceptionally intelligent.
Mrs. Folasade Boriowo, spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, said the ministry is not yet aware of the lawsuit but confirmed that discussions on the age policy are ongoing.
Proofreading and editing by Gift Luckson and Hafsat Aleeyu Muye, Editor and Journalist at Neptune Prime
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We should as much as possible avoid policies that tends to keep us permanently in the state of under development as a country. If a 15 or 16 year old student is good enough to clear his/her papers in SSCE or Neco, why stop there admission to the tertiary institutions. What will they be doing before they get to 18 years admission age. Thanks