By Ngozi Nwankwo
Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund said that lawmakers in the upper chamber of the National Assembly may soon amend the existing law on the minimum entry age into universities and other tertiary institutions in the country.
The committee, led by its chairman, Senator Muntari Dandutse, made this known after monitoring the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination,UTME, alongside its House of Representatives’ counterpart in Abuja on Tuesday.
While backing the decision of the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, to set the minimum entry age for admission into tertiary education institutions at 18, Senator Dandutse said the move would ensure that minors do not find their way to university.
Dandutse, who described the conduct of the ongoing UTME by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) as impressive, commended President Bola Tinubu for rolling out the student loan scheme, saying the programme would boost access to higher education in the country.
“One of the key problems we have in education was addressed by the President and Commander-in-Chief, President Bola Tinubu, and the leadership of the National Assembly; that is the education loan for students,” he said.
Also speaking, a member of the committee, Senator Sunday Karimi, said the need to boost access to education does not rule out pegging the minimum admission age at 18.
“Everybody should have access to education. Just because you are 40 or 50 doesn’t mean you cannot enter university; it is not a barrier, but there is also a minimum. You cannot be 12, you cannot be 13, you cannot be 14, and enter university.
“What the minister said yesterday is that you have to be 18, and we are not against that, because before you can enter primary school, you have to be 6, and before you enter secondary school, you have to be 12, so before you enter university, you have to be 18,” he said.
Asked if the Senate will come up with a law to make 18 years the mandatory age for entry into higher education institutions in the country, the Kogi-West Senator said, “The law is already there, but if it means to even take it and amend it to make sure we have a robust law, we are going to do that.”
Earlier, addressing some candidates at the Computer-Based Test,CBT, centre in Government Secondary School, Tudun Wada, Abuja, Chairman
of the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education, Oforji Oboku, who joined the senators to monitor the UTME, called on the students to give their best in the exam.
While expressing delight that the eagerness of the students shows that Nigeria has hope and a bright future, the Bayelsa-born lawmaker advised them to take advantage of the student loan scheme when admitted into higher education institutions in the country.