By Ella Michaels
The Federal Government has denied rumors of age restrictions for taking the National Examination Council (NECO) and West African Examination Council (WAEC) exams. Minister of State for Education, Dr. Tanko Sununu, made the clarification in Abuja on Friday, stating that there are no age limits for sitting for the exams.
The Minister explained that the government only restricted the age for sitting for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and entry into the university to 18 years, beginning in 2025. This policy is in line with the National Policy on Education document, which states that a child is expected to enter primary school at six years and spend six years there, followed by three years each in junior and senior secondary schools, making it 18 years.
Sununu emphasized that the government has not placed any age restrictions on WAEC, NECO, or NABTEB examinations. He attributed the misunderstanding to misinterpretation of previous statements made by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman.
The Minister's clarification came during a briefing on activities to mark the 2024 World Literacy Day, themed "Promoting Multilingual Education: Literacy for Mutual Understanding and Peace." Sununu highlighted the importance of literacy and education in promoting understanding and peace.
