The Federal Government has said it did not place age limit for students taking National Examinations Council (NECO) and West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
Minister of State for Education, Dr. Tanko Sununu, disclosed this to newsmen on Friday at a World Literacy Day event in Abuja.
The Minister explained that the age restriction was on candidates sitting for Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), and not NECO, WAEC or NABTEB.
He said, “As regards this matter, we have made ourselves clear in different fora.
“But the issue kept recurring here and there. Actually, nobody among the two of us, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, nor the Minister of State, stated anything about the age limit for WAEC, NECO or NABTEB.
“People just pick up some remarks the Minister made, misinterpreted the statements to imply that age restriction has been placed for WAEC and NECO examinations.
“What we have been mentioning in the past was the entry age for university. Candidates sitting for the UTME.
“We have made this clear several times.”
On age restriction for UTME candidates, Dr. Sununu said the idea was in line with the National Policy on Education which stipulates that “a child is expected to enter primary school at six years, and he’s expected to spend six years in that school, making it 12 years, three years each in junior and senior secondary schools, making it 18 years.”
He added, “This is directly or otherwise related to the theme of this year’s World Literacy Day.
“The policy further stated that a child should learn in the language of the immediate environment or mother tongue up till Primary 3 before English Language could be introduced in subsequent years.
“That has facilitated learning at that level because you can easily communicate.”
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