Minimum age for WAEC, NECO: A misconceived, ill-timed and retrogressive policy

By Paul Dada

The current administration led by President Bola Tinubu, boasts of initiating several bold and progressive reforms. The jury is still out on many of those reforms. While many prefer to see the light at the end of the tunnel over the reforms, there are people who think they have led Nigeria into an economic Armageddon.

For me, one policy I find very bothersome is the one recently announced by  the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman. Mamman who was guesting on a TV show, said the Federal Government would no longer allow those younger than 18 years to sit the senior secondary school certificate examinations conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO).

According to him, it was a policy already in place and which the FG was now determined to enforce.

Speaking, the Education Minister said, “.. basically if you compute the number of years pupils, and learners are supposed to be in school, the number you will end up with is 17 and a half – from early child care to primary school to junior secondary school and then senior secondary school. You will end up with 17 and a half by the time they are ready for admission.

“So, we are not coming up with new policy contrary to what some people are saying; we are just simply reminding people of what is existing. In any case, NECO and WAEC, henceforth, will not be allowing underage children to write their examinations. In other words, if somebody has not spent the requisite number of years in that particular level of study, WAEC and NECO will not allow them to write the examination.”

The decision makers at the Federal Ministry of Education may think that with the policy, they are  trying to save our children from growing up too quickly . But I  daresay this is a veritable case of putting the cart before the horse. It is a fact that many of our children start the  primary school at the age of three or four. Many of them get into secondary school  when they are nine or 10. By the time they are 14 and 15, they are already in the Senior Secondary School 3 , and are ready to sit the WAEC and NECO exams. With this policy, it is important to ask about what plans the Federal Government has for the children during the four or three year transition to the age of maturity for the exams.

Isn’t it this going to lead to a situation where you have lots of academically idle younglings? Surely, we are going to have more restless teenagers taking to a life of  social vices and crimes.  Shouldn’t there first  be a solid plan or system in place for our children to acquire vocational skills during the transition years.

I believe the FG government needs to first peg the minimum for primary school enrolment at six. But this is not something that can be done in hurry. The nation cannot at this time  start to demote “underage” kids who are already in schools.

Seriously, I think the FG needs to discard this policy now and think of better policies to introduce to improve the  educational sector. Currently, the FG is being praised not by a few people, for the Student Loan initiative managed by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). But a lot still needs to be done to revamp the education sector.

For example, rather than embark on this age pegging policy, the country should either be thinking of  changing the failed 6-3-3-4 educational system or modifying it.

The  6-3-3-4 system of education, which was introduced in the 80s to replace the 6-5-4 system, was supposed to  inject functionality into the Nigerian school system. It was meant to produce young people that would be able to make use of their hands, head and  heart.

But everyone knows it is a system that has failed. Former  President Goodluck Jonathan, sometime  in October 2010, while speaking at a national stakeholders’ meeting on the education sector, had to call on the proponents of the 6-3-3-4 to apologise to Nigerians.

A certain  expert, Mr. Wale Samuel had at the time said: “The problem of implementation of 6-3-3-4 is partly due to non-availability of personnel, materials, funds and administrative will. This programme has failed to achieve much not solely because of lack of human and material resources but largely due to poor implementation.”

So why have all the past administrations not done anything about this failed educational system? Why is this current administration not seriously looking into it?

I also think what the Minister of Education should focus on coming up with great policies to avert the incessant strikes by unions in the tertiary institutions. Issues of improved funding for the universities and welfare of university teachers and other workers in the tertiary institutions still remain not tackled. It is common knowledge that these are  part of the issues that have hobbled our universities, polytechnics and the colleges of education.

Mamman can have his portrait placed in the Nigeria’s hall of fame by initiating policies that can help Nigeria to stop turning out half-baked graduates and professionals who are barely employable.  We can learn from the German educational system which has served to foster the economic growth of that European giant.

Germany has an effective educational system known as Vocational Education and Training (VET). The VET system which probably takes in more than 1.3 million students every year, features  a dual-track system involving  classroom studies in specialised trade schools and supervised, on-the-job work experience.  During the training which may last  between  two to four years, apprentices spend  some days in a week in the classroom  of a vocational school known as Berufsschule. They also spend  days at a company or a public sector institution to learn by practice.   The trainees spend 60 percent of their time in the workplace under  the supervision of a certified trainer.  They are only in the classroom for 40 percent of their time.

It has been said that 51 percent of Germany’s skilled workforce comes from the VET system. Yet they still have universities. According to cleanenergy.org, “more than one-third of all pupils graduating from secondary school in Germany enter a vocational training programme, of which one-third go on to pursue a single-track, school-based VET and two-thirds the dual-track counterpart”.  The website also say: “Approximately 68 percent of the latter system’s graduates enter the workforce in the company where they were trained immediately after training”.

Nigeria can learn from Germany. We don’t have to copy exactly what the Germans do but we can ensure we have a system that produces a very skilled workforce. This, I strongly believe, is what we require now and not a policy which suspends the dreams of young people.

Already, stakeholders have been kicking against the policy. The Secretary General of the NUT, Dr Mike Ene, says they should take another look at at the policy.  “Now that our children start early, say by three years they are in creche, singing nursery rhymes, after that, they move on. So, they complete secondary school education before 18, some a little over 16. What will such students be doing? Devil finds work for an idle hand,” Ene said to a national newspaper.

The Deputy National President of National Parents-Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN).Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo, says the body will challenge the policy in court.

I think more pressure should be put on the Federal Government to rethink or reverse the policy.

The hope inspiring Nigeria’s super football squad

Kudos to those who took the decision to invite the 23 players to execute the first two matches Nigeria will play in the AFCON qualifiers. It is a squad of stars. I only hope the new coach, Bruno Labbadia will make the best use of them to reverse the dwindling fortunes of the country in football.

See the full list below:

Goalkeepers: Stanley Nwabali (Chippa United, South Africa); Maduka Okoye (Udinese FC, Italy); Amas Obasogie (Bendel Insurance FC)

Defenders: William Ekong (Al-Kholood FC, Saudi Arabia); Bright Osayi-Samuel (Fenerbahce SK, Turkey); Olisa Ndah (Orlando Pirates, South Africa); Bruno Onyemaechi (Boavista FC, Portugal); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Calvin Bassey (Fulham FC, England); Olaoluwa Aina (Nottingham Forest, England)

Midfielders: Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Raphael Onyedika (Club Brugge, Belgium); Alhassan Yusuf Abdullahi (New England Revolution, USA); Fisayo Dele-Bashiru (Lazio FC. Italy); Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England); Alex Iwobi (Fulham FC, England)

Forwards: Samuel Chukwueze (AC Milan, Italy); Victor Osimhen (SSC Napoli, Italy); Kelechi Iheanacho (Sevilla FC, Spain); Victor Boniface (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Ademola Lookman (Atalanta FC, Italy); Taiwo Awoniyi (Nottingham Forest, England)