The ban on admission seekers into tertiary institutions who are less than eighteen years old, which was announced by the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, has been reversed.
The ban was reversed following strong protests by Vice Chancellors and other stakeholders on Thursday at the 2024 Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) policy meeting in Abuja.
It was, however, agreed that the policy would come into enforcement at a future date set to be determined.
The stakeholders agreed that candidates who are 16 years old would be considered for admission into tertiary institutions for the 2024 academic year, however, the entry age would be 18 years from the next academic year.
Recall Professor Mamman had earlier during the meeting on Thursday, declared that candidates below the age of eighteen would no longer be granted admission to tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
According to the Minister, this decision is in line with Nigeria’s law, which prohibits the admission of underage students to tertiary institutions.
He emphasized that no one should recommend anyone less than 18 years old for admission, stressing that this guideline must be strictly followed.
Meanwhile, the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) official cut-off marks for the 2024 admission exercise into tertiary institutions in Nigeria have been announced.
The marks were announced on Thursday at the policy meeting held in Abuja, which was presided over by the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman and attended by all relevant stakeholders in the education sector.
The policy meeting agreed on a minimum score of 140 for candidates seeking University admission, and 100 for Polytechnics and Colleges of Education.
