Tuesday, October 15, 2024 -A 15-year-old Senior Secondary School (SSS) Student, master Chinaemere Opara has sued the Federal Ministry of Education, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the National Universities Commission (NUC) over the government's policy which seeks to limit admissions into Nigerian universities to applicants who attain the age of 18.
The Minister of
Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, had in July stated that beginning from 2025,
candidates under 18 years of age would not be allowed to sit for the Senior
Secondary Certificate Examination, a prerequisite for admission to higher
institutions.
The announcement sparked intense
debate among education stakeholders and parents, forcing Mamman to accept 16
years as the admission age into tertiary institutions this year.
Opara filed the suit through his
guardian, Mr. Maxwell Opara, his father and a lawyer, at the Federal High Court
in Abuja on Monday, October 14, 2024.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
reports that in the originating motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1512/2024 dated Sept.
30 and filed Oct. 14 by Wayne Elijah, the SS 2 student listed the ministry,
JAMB and NUC as 1st to 3rd respondents respectively.
In his six reliefs, the applicant
sought a declaration that the respondents’ minimum age for admission policy to
restrict the age of Nigerian citizens for admission into universities in the
country is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
He said it amounted to a gross
violation of his right to freedom of expression as guaranteed under Section 42
of the 1999 Constitution, 2011 (as amended) and Article 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 13(2),
17 and 28 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and
Enforcement) Act Cap A9 Vol. 1 LFN.
He urged the court to declare that
his right to peaceful assembly and association cannot be limited by the
respondents’ admission policy.
He also sought a declaration that the
policy, which restricts his age before exercising his right of association and
self-determination as to when to enrol to write the West Africa Examinations
Council (WAEC) and/or JAMB exams infringed on his right of equal access to
public service.
This, he said, is guaranteed under
Article 13(2) and (3) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights
(Ratification and Enforcement) Act Cap A9 Vol. 1 LFN.
Opara, therefore, sought an order of
perpetual injunction restraining the respondents, from attempting to disturb,
breach or interfere with his rights.
He equally sought an order setting
aside the policy.
In the affidavit deposed to by
Maxwell, he said he is the biological father of Chinaemere.
He said Chinaemere is an SS2 student
who is directly affected by the respondents’ minimum age for admission policy.
He said the policy had impeded
Chinaemere’s right to freedom from age discrimination and education as
enshrined in the law.
He said his son “read from the online
newspaper that the 1st respondent stated that there’s no going back on the
implementation of his policy which stated that any person below 16 years would
not be qualified to get admission in the university no matter how brilliant the
person is.
“That since then the applicant
believes that his right to education has been or is likely to be violated.
“That the applicant would enter SS 3
in this 2024/2025 academic session with his plan/arrangements of writing his
WAEC, NECO AND JAMB in 2025 with his expectations of gaining admission in
2025/2026 university academic sessions.
“That I know as of fact that in
Nigeria, there is no specific age limit for gaining admission into
universities.
“However, candidates typically must
have completed their secondary education and sat for WASSCE or its equivalent.
“That I know as of fact that in
Nigeria most universities require candidates to meet certain academic
qualifications, such as having a minimum number of credits in relevant subjects
and passing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
“That I know as of fact that in Nigeria
there is no federal or state law making age a barrier for the applicant to gain
admission.
“That the applicant
strongly believes that he will perform excellently and make good grades in all
the subjects that will be required for him to gain admission.
“That the applicant wants to study
Medicine & Surgery whose duration is six years along with a mandatory
1-year youth service and 1-year compulsory Medical Externship totalling all 8
years,” Mr Maxwell said.
The case is yet to be assigned to a judge
as of the time of filling this report.
When contacted, the
spokesperson of the Ministry of Education, Mrs Folasade Boriowo, said they were
not aware of the case instituted against them by the teenager.
“I am just hearing about the case now…But
then, those who are following the conversation around the minimum age will
attest to the fact that it is a not closed matter," she said.
“Meetings are being held to
fine-tune the process, and I wonder why some people would rush to the
court."
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