- Bars underage pupils from National Common Entrance Exam
BY EDMOND ODOK – The Federal Government has cautioned parents against registering underage children for the National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE), insisting that their future is being jeopardized by such unhealthy practices.
Accordingly, only children who are at least 12 years old would henceforth be allowed to participate in the NCEE for admission into all the federal unity colleges of the country.
This is as the Federal Ministry of Education disclosed that a total of 72,821 candidates sat for this year’s examination held on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr David Adejo made the plea in Abuja while monitoring the conduct of the NCEE for admission into the 110 Federal Government Colleges nationwide.
He said going forward, the National Examinations Council (NECO) has been directed to introduce strict measures aimed at preventing underage children from participating in the examination.
The Permanent Secretary, who disclosed that birth certificate would now be a compulsory registration requirement, said it was unacceptable for candidates less than 11 years to take the examination.
“We didn’t want to get to where we will say bring a birth certificate. But that is the stage we are going to now. When registering, also upload the child’s birth certificate, so that at our own end, we are able to address some of these things”, he said.
Explaining that a child should be at least 12 years old before getting into secondary school, Mr Adejo said; “This year, I have advice for parents and I beg you, take this advice to any single home you know. We are killing our children by allowing underage children to write the common entrance examination.
“I saw children that I know that are not up to 10, and three of them accepted that they are nine years old. We are doing many things; one, we are teaching the children the wrong values. Education is not about passing exams. Education is teaching, learning and character formation.
“I beg the parents, let these children do the exams when they should. We don’t get value by pushing your child too far. Most of the times if a child starts too early, he or she will have problems later in life.”
Maintaining that education is designed in such a way that at any particular stage in a child’s life, there are messages his or her brain can take and understand and be able to use, the Permanent Secretary said by having underage children write such examinations, parents are inadvertently encouraging education that is just reliant on reading textbooks and passing examinations.
Hear him; “We are getting to a stage where education is what you can use your knowledge to do for the society. You put a small child to go through all the rigours, by the time he finishes secondary, getting to university becomes a problem.
“I had that experience with a friend. Till date that friend did not get into a university, simply because he was put into school earlier than the age that he was supposed to be put into school.
“Let our children get to an appropriate age before writing this exam and we are going to make sure NECO puts in place appropriate checks.”
