"It'll Frustrate Millions": Shehu Sani Faults FG's Benchmark Age for University Entry

• Shehu Sani has given its opinion on the federal government's plan to fix 18 years as the fixed age for entry into tertiary institutions in Nigeria
• The former Kaduna senator on Tuesday, April 23, opined that the initiative will work against youths in the country
• Sani added that the plan will frustrate and waste the lives of a lot of Nigerians who are intellectually active at young ages

A former senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has reacted to the federal government's plan to fix 18 years as the benchmark age for those seeking admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

Recently, the minister of education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, lamented the high underage level in Nigerian higher institutions and disclosed that a plan is underway to review and impose an 18-year minimum age for admission seekers.

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The minister made this known on Monday, April 22, while monitoring Abuja's ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

However, Sani, in a tweet on Tuesday, April 23, argued that the plan would be counter-productive if and when implemented.

The Kaduna ex-lawmaker noted that if students who are mature enough have to wait till they get to 18 years before gaining admission into academic institutions of their choice, they will end up being frustrated.

Even more, Sani is of the view that the initiative will waste the lives of millions of Nigerians while they wait to get to 18 years when they are intellectually gifts at a younger age.

His words:

"If students have to reach the age of 18 before gaining admission into university, then the country will delay, frustrate or waste the lives of millions of young people who are intellectually gifted at their very early age."

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JAMB speaks on when UTME 2024 results will be out

Meanwhile, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) had disclosed that the first batch of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results would be out "any moment soon".

Legit.ng reported that JAMB stated this on Saturday, April 20, on X (formerly Twitter) while responding to inquiries.

The 2024 JAMB UTME exam started on Friday, April 19 and will end on Monday, April 29.

Source: Legit.ng