The Senate Committee on Basic Education has commenced process to amend the establishment Act of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to enable it limit the age of candidates writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, (UTME) to 18 years and above.
Disclosing this is the Vice-Chairman of the committee, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, who gave the indication during the committee’s oversight visit to JAMB Headquarters in Abuja.
According to Eyakenyi, she stated that the committee had identified two major areas to be addressed in the proposed amendment for the exam body to function better.
“We have the responsibilities of making laws and legislate. We have identified two major areas that we need to go into the process of amending the act establishing JAMB. That’s the area of support we will give,
“Other than that, we also intend to pass on what we have seen today to the appropriate MDAs, the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure the support that JAMB needs is given to them.” she said.
The lawmaker suggested in the new amendment that 18 years should be set as age for any candidate who will like to participate in UTME henceforth, as against the practice of candidates participating in the exercise as early as 14 years.
The Committee’s vice chairman insisted that candidates should neither sit nor be admitted into the university below the age of 18, as age has a lot to do with learning ability.
The senator, who stressed the importance of education to the development and future of Nigeria, said the sector deserves maximum attention as good quality education can only be achieved through funding and commitment of teachers and students.
