The Federal Government of Nigeria through the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, has enforced an educational policy, restricting underage students from participating in the Senior School Certificate Examination being conducted by West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO). The Federal Government claimed that in line with the 6-3-3-4 Education System Nigeria is operating, a child has to be 18 before he or she will be allowed to sit for the senior school certificate examination. The Minister hinged the decision of the FG to enforce the policy on the immaturity of students below 18 when they get to tertiary schools.
Divergent reactions have been trailing the new policy. While some Nigerians think the policy is good as it will ensure students reach maturity needed to cope with tertiary education, some stakeholders in the education sector, especially operators of private nursery and primary schools and parents, have expressed outrage over the enforced policy which will take effect in 2025.
However, it is important to look at the issue holistically to determine whether it is a merit or a demerit. The aim of 6-3-3-4 Education System is to ensure that students reach a maturity/adulthood age of 18 according to the Nigerian Constitution before gaining admission to tertiary schools. The division of the ages for the education system is 6 years before entering primary school, 6 years in primary school, 3 years in junior secondary school and 3 years in senior secondary school, totalling 18 years. The rest of the 4 years will be spent in tertiary schools. But with the ubiquity of private nursery and primary schools, offering prenursery, kindergarten and nursery levels of education, there is a reduction in the ages students write senior school certificate examinations from 18 it used to be to 14, 15 or 16, depending on how many classes students skip to reach Senior Secondary 3 class. In fact, most private schools do not have Basic 6 Class as their pupils sit for common entrance examination at Basic 4 or Basic 5.
In all of these arrangements, one important thing is missing and it is taking students through vocational and entrepreneurship trainings. The provision for vocational trainings in our post- primary school curricula has not made a significant impact. There arises an opportunity from the recently enforced policy of 18 Years Age Limit for students to write senior secondary certificate examination. From the primary level of education through the secondary level, there is no space for pupils and students to undergo vocational trainings, let alone entrepreneurship training, as they are always engaged with academic activities even with little room for non curricula activities. During holidays, pupils and students are bombarded with summer coaching that their brains are not allowed to breathe.
Then, the question should be, do pupils and students need to acquire vocational and entrepreneurship trainings after they have acquired academic training? The answer is YES! Our academic curricula are designed to impart theories into our pupils and students. The recently introduced trade and entrepreneurship studies in the senior secondary school curriculum have not really made the expected impacts as there are hindrances to teaching and learning of the trade and entrepreneurship studies in schools. There is a dearth of tools and equipment through which students can make practicals.
This is where the merit of the enforcement of the 18 Years Age Limit to sit for SSCE is located. Some stakeholders have expressed that the policy will keep students, 16 years or below, who have reached the stage of writing senior school certificate examination, idle for two or more years before they will be allowed to write the final examination in secondary school. And, caught by the fear of an idle hand/mind being a devil’s tool/workshop, they are outraged by the policy. It will be stating the obvious to repeat that our youths need vocational and entrepreneurship training to be able to meet local and global demands for artisans, business creators and business managers. It is now essential to recommend to the Federal Government to put in place a compulsory 2-year Vocational/Entrepreneurship Training for students who are waiting to sit for senior secondary certificate examination. At this stage, all academic activities have wound up and there will be concentration on vocational training while the hindrances to teaching and learning vocations and entrepreneurship will have been removed. The trade and entrepreneurship studies that have been made a part of the senior secondary school curriculum have to be separated and moved to the compulsory 2-year vocational training and students must receive separate certificates for vocations learnt.
By the time these students have received training on vocations and entrepreneurship, their maturity will have grown and they will be mentally and emotionally ready to face the stress and rigours of tertiary education with ease. It has been observed that learning vocations hastens maturity of youths more than academic learning. Even those students who may not be able to proceed to tertiary schools for one reason or the other will have been adequately prepared to be useful members of the country through the vocations they have learnt. This recommendation, if considered by the FG, will solve myriad challenges of youth delinquency, restiveness and idleness and dearth of artisans that characterise our country as we speak.
Maroof Asudemade, an Editorial Consultant and a Book Publisher, writes from Ibadan.
