The federal government has formally pegged the minimum age for admission into tertiary institutions at 16 years.

Education minister Tunji Alausa disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday at the 2025 policy meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.

”This policy decision reflects a balance between cognitive maturity and academic preparedness. Sixteen years is non-negotiable,” the education minister said.

He noted that provisions existed for clearly documented and justified exceptions, such as gifted children with accelerated educational progress.

He warned institutions against attempting to circumvent the rule by altering age records, emphasising that such actions would result in sanctions.

The minister also unveiled new measures to curb the scourge of examination malpractices, which he described as a “cancer” undermining merit and eroding confidence in Nigeria’s education system.

He announced the establishment of a Central Examination Malpractice Unit within the Federal Ministry of Education, noting that it would be chaired by the permanent secretary, Abel Enitan.

He added that this unit would serve as a national clearinghouse for documenting and reporting malpractice cases across all levels of education.

”This central database will be accessible to all institutions. It is our hope that this will reduce the tendency to engage in malpractices, as offenders will be appropriately tried under the Exam Malpractices Act,” the minister said.

He also confirmed the government’s support for WAEC and NECO to adopt computer-based testing to curb malpractices.

(NAN)