By Tunde Olofintila
The last may not have been heard on the contentious issue of the age a prospective candidate can be admitted into any of Nigeria’s 264 private, state or federal universities.
Before now, an aspiring candidate to any of the country’s 264 universities would be admitted if he/she had the requisite WAEC/NECO papers and after scaling the hurdle of the post-UTME introduced in 2003 by the Committee of Pro Chancellors of Nigerian Universities under the chairmanship of the frontline legal icon, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN.
However, on April 22, 2024, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the agency that qualifies eligible students for admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria through its yearly Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME), released a bombshell that pegged the minimum age of entry into Nigerian universities at 18 years. By this directive, a child is expected to commence Primary School at age 6, enter Secondary School at age 12 and enter the university at age 18 years. This rule allows for no exception.
Since then, there has been a babel of words for and against this government directive by educational stakeholders including parents and Heads of tertiary institutions.
That brings us to Nigeria’s renown Juju maestro, Chief Anthony Isola Adeniyi Adegeye, popularly known as King Sunny Ade, who sang in one of his numerous albums in the 1970’s that “Agba ki i wa l’oja k’ori omo tuntun k’o wo” which translates roughly to “An elder should not look on, unconcerned, when things are going awry”.
It must have been this time-tested Yoruba aphorism that propelled the elder statesman and Founder of the increasingly famous Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, ABUAD, to have gone all-out in defence of the extant position that age should not be a barrier to any exceptionally gifted student from gaining admission to a Nigerian university the moment he/she has scaled the hurdle of passing WAEC/NECO and post-UTME. In specific terms, every Nigerian University is entitled to exercise its unfettered discretion in this regard.
Miffed by this new development, Babalola wondered why the education of a child who had passed all pre-qualification requirements for admission into tertiary institutions should be truncated on the altar of age. He added that “this should not be so because age is not maturity”.
In a parley with newsmen over the weekend, Babalola emphasized the need for Nigerian universities to be allowed to exercise their discretion in admitting students for various programmes as is the practice in Western countries, rather than being subjected to government directives.
Asserting that age has nothing to do with a nation’s growth and development, the elder statesman cautioned the government against implementing policies that could hinder the progress and aspirations of young citizens who could provide solutions to the nation’s challenges.
His words: “It is the duty of each university to exercise its discretion in matters of admission. You can’t take that discretion away from them. In my view, the issue of age is a matter of discretion for the university and let me say that we have been practicing this here”.
He recalled how his university, ABUAD, had admitted students aged between 14 and 16 years and how many of such students passed out with First Class and Second-Class Upper Division. As a matter of fact, some of them have already obtained their Doctor’s Degrees from different universities around the world.
To drive his point home, he recalled the words of Elaine Aaron, the American Psychologist and the Author of the international best-seller – ‘Highly Sensitive Person’, who said: “What could we need more right now than people who think carefully, feel deeply, notice the subtle details, and end up having the big picture?” These four qualities are essential to nation building. Age is not one of them, neither is it a requirement to obtaining any of them”.
He added: “Maturity is not a function of age. Rather, it is a function of the mindset, emotional intelligence and the ability to understand oneself and the world. Maturity is earned from training the mind, not from aging. Consequently, we have many adults who are all but matured in the way they think, act, or relate with others and the world they live in.
“Conversely, we have children who have defied all odds and achieved even the seemingly impossible. I have compiled a short list of people I consider to be Young Achievers hereunder. This is because they knew the value of mind enrichment at a very young age and pursued it”.
Naming several gifted children such as Soborno Isaac Bari, Yasha Asley, Alias Sabur, Colin Maclaurin, Charles Hormer Haskins among others in Europe, America and Asia who earned their Ph.D’s and/or were appointed professors between the ages 11 and 22, Babalola said he was not surprised that no Nigerian was named among these globally recognized young achievers.
A man known for his definite distinction of not leaving any stone unturned, the former UNILAG Pro Chancellor attributed this to Nigeria’s strategic policies that suspend the laudable achievements of brilliant young minds till later ages in Nigeria as confirmed by the following examples:
* Ekele Franklin: While his mates in the West and Middle East were already pursuing either their Master’s or Doctoral Degrees, Ekele Franklin, the Overall Best candidate in the 2020 UTME with a score of 347, was denied admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria because he was 15 years old!
* David Okorogheye who had 332 in the UTME in 2021 was denied admission because he was not yet 16!
* Tochukwu Nwafor who completed his Secondary education at 14 years was also precluded from going into the university because of his age!
* Oyende Faith: Faith was the Best Graduating student in the Department of Biochemistry of the Lagos State University in 2021. She told the Press that she wanted to become a Medical Doctor but was denied admission twice because of her age!
* Orisheneye Okorogheye had A1 in all his subjects in WAEC and has the dream to become a Neurosurgeon. He was however denied admission into tertiary institution in Nigeria because he was 15 years old!
In Babalola’s opinion, “The only factor that separates the young achievers earlier mentioned and these brilliant Nigerian teenagers is that the young achievers were birthed into societies which understood, appreciated and are willing to nurture their gifts. Their societies were willing to make exceptions to accommodate their giftings. That is where Nigeria falters as a nation”.
He added: “Having a minimum age of admission into the tertiary institution rule that allows for no exception is a problematic position that will in the long run affect the dreams of the younger generations.
“In several developed nations of the world, there is a minimum age qualification requirement. In the United Kingdom (UK), it is 18 years. In Australia, it is 17 years. When there are age limits, government allows each university to exercise its discretion, otherwise the outstanding students would not have been what they are today and at a tender age”.
A man known to balance things out, Babalola added: “However, this rule is not strict. In the UK for example, the University reserves the right to waive the minimum admission age requirement on an individual basis upon the fulfilment of certain conditions. In Australia, the Academic Board of the school may grant a candidate who is not 17 years an exemption depending on his or her performance in the qualifying examinations.
“In some other countries like Norway, there is no specific age limit for admission into tertiary institutions once the candidate meets the academic entry requirements.
“Also in South Korea, there is no age requirement in the admission criteria into tertiary institutions. All the candidate needs is to meet all academic entry requirements.
“Age is not maturity. Children are now demonstrating exceptional academic intelligence which is not common in their ages. I strongly believe that no child deserves to have his or her dreams impugned upon by reason of age alone.
“University autonomy includes among other things the discretion to waive the minimum age requirements for students who pass the minimum admission requirements and possess exceptional academic potentials. This is as obtainable in the UK, Australia, Norway and South Korea. It should not be within the competence of the Federal Government to direct that students of certain ages are disqualified from entering tertiary institutions after they had met all other admission requirements”.
Coming nearer home, Babalola recalled that Victor Omololu Olunloyo took his Higher Secondary Examination (HSE) at the age of 13 years. Firstly, he registered for the Examination at an age way younger than his peers. Secondly, he took the exams only after three months of registering, what ought to have taken him 2 years. He passed all his paper at one sitting. He thereafter took his GCE Advanced Level and passed it also at a sitting.
By implication, he was qualified to enter the University at a tender age of 13 years. Sadly, there was no university in Nigeria at the time. He had to travel abroad for his B. Sc, Master’s and Ph.D. He became the Commissioner for Economic Development for the Western Region in 1962 at age 27 and later became the Governor of the bigger Oyo State in 1983 at age 48.
Imagine if there had been a rule that delayed his progress at that time, I doubt he would have achieved all that he achieved. It is this limitation that we are now sadly imposing on the younger generations.
According to Babalola, ABUAD and some other Nigerian universities which have spotted and admitted super brilliant young stars who have beaten Olunloyo’s record.
Babalola suggested that Nigeria should not forge with its own hands the chain that will hamper the development of our gifted children. The minimum age requirement should also give universities the discretion to admit children below the age of sixteen (16) who are endowed with exceptional ability.
Government cannot shift the goal post after the game has started. The time has come for Nigeria’s policy makers to remember that a man’s life ticks away like the hand of the clock every second, yet not many appreciate that every minute that is gone is irretrievable. We must also appreciate that time is life and life is time. Time is the greatest enemy of man. Time does not wait for anyone. Lost time is irretrievable.
* Olofintila, ABUAD’s Director of Corporate Affairs, writes from Ado-Ekiti
