The Senate Committee on Basic Education said it will pursue the amendment of the law establishing the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to enable it limit the age of candidates writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME to 16 years and above.
Vice Chairman of the committee, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, gave the indication during the committee’s oversight visit to JAMB. The committee noted that candidates should not be admitted into the university below the age of 18 as age has a lot to do with learning ability.
Responding, JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, told the committee that the board does not have powers to disqualify any candidate on the basis of age, stating that individual institutions can decide on who to admit as it is the case with University of Ibadan which does not admit candidates below 16 years.