Nigerians have condemned the federal government’s decision to ban children below 18 years from sitting for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), and the National Examination Council (NECO), describing it as a backward education policy.
Friday Erhabor, the director of media and strategies at Marklenez Limited, said the policy if allowed to stay will take Nigeria’s education decades behind, stressing that the policymakers are not mindful of global reality.
“I think, we’re beginning to be shameless in our policy formulation. Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria can marry a 16-year-old girl. But 16-year-olds are not mature enough to write WAEC or JAMB,” he said.
…describes it as a misplaced priority
“It shows how unserious we are as a nation. I think stakeholders, parents and school administrators should resist it,” he urged.
David Imhonopi, a professor of Industrial Sociology and Human Capital Development at Covenant University, Ota in Ogun State, described the government’s stand on the new age policy for secondary school leaving examinations, as a regrettable misplaced priority.
“This is regrettably a misplacement of priorities. There is a mirage of challenges in our educational sector, the age at which students write examinations or gain admission into higher institutions is the least.”
…says policy could impede system
“The question is, what plan does the government have to deal with the vacuum or bridge the gap between age 16 and 18? What will a student of age 16 or 18 years who is presently in SS3 be doing when he or she is deprived of writing NECO and other similar examinations due to age difference?” he asked.
Imhonopi said that the government should focus its attention on the development of infrastructure and technology.
“Teachers’ welfare should be a concern to the government. Developing and maintaining a globally relevant curriculum is inevitable at this moment.
“The reduction of corruption to its barest minimum in our educational institutions should be the priority of a serious government,” he said.
Stanley Boroh, a lecturer at the Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, also kicked against the idea, insisting that there is no ideal yardstick for implementing such a policy.
“I don’t think this is ideal for our education because what is the yardstick for bringing up these policies? Globally, young people are doing exploits and we turn back and applaud them yet place ours in a disadvantaged position,” he noted.
Also, Isaiah Ogundele, an educationist in Lagos condemned the policy, and urged the government to be more flexible with their policies, because according to him, the policy tends to impede private education business in the country.
“We experienced this about two sessions ago when a good number of our learners that were supposed to go to SS3 wrote IGCSE, SAT and TOEFL; coupled with their SS 1& 2 results they were able to get admission into good schools abroad even with a scholarship,” he said.
He said pegging the secondary school leaving age will hurt private school owners because private schools always encourage the students to do the SS3 examination even at a lower age.
According to him, with the 18-year cut-off age to write WAEC and NECO in Nigeria, students below the stipulated age can choose to write the international examinations and forget about local examinations, noting that students from poor homes would suffer the outcome of this policy the most.
Besides, he said that stakeholders like NECO and WAEC will suffer if this policy is implemented and would lead to termination of appointment if the required number of students are refused to write these examinations.
Ogundele also expressed concern that parents may begin to falsify their children’s date of birth if care is not taken.
However, Rowland Nwanze, an educationist applauded the move by the government.
“The truth is by principle you cannot deny a child his/her right to education. But the reality facing us is that most of these children’s mentality is not able to cope with some serious mental activities,” he said.
Similarly, Oyebola Ajiteru, an education consultant said that the policy is a welcome development.
“This is a welcome idea to me, you see parents rushing their children because the child is academically sound but what happens to the other aspect of the child’s life?” she asked.
“Waiting till 18 years makes the child mature well emotionally, physically, able to make decisions on their own. At this time, the child is responsible for his/her actions. If a child finishes high school at 14 or 15 years, parents should help the child build his / her self-being,” she said.
