FG to implement age restriction of 18 years for candidates taking WAEC and NECO exams

The Federal Government has announced a new restriction that bars individuals under the age of 18 from participating in exams administered by the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). This policy was revealed by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, during his appearance on Channels Television’s ‘Sunday Politics’ program on Sunday evening.

Prof. Mamman clarified that this directive mandates both WAEC, responsible for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, and NECO, which oversees the Senior School Certificate Examination, to enforce an age limit of 18 years for all candidates. He emphasized that this is not a new policy but rather a reinforcement of an existing one.

The Minister also noted that the age requirement for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), administered by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), remains at 18 years. He elaborated that during a meeting with JAMB in July, it was decided that while candidates below 18 years will be allowed to sit for this year’s exams, starting next year, JAMB will strictly enforce the age requirement for university admissions in Nigeria.

Prof. Mamman stressed that the policy has been in place for some time and is simply being reinforced. He explained that given the typical educational path from early childhood care through primary and secondary education, students would generally be around 17 and a half years old by the time they are ready for admission to higher education. Therefore, the age limit aligns with the expected educational timeline.

He concluded by reiterating that NECO and WAEC will no longer permit underage students to take their exams. If a candidate has not completed the required number of years at their current educational level, they will be ineligible to sit for these examinations.