Parents of disqualified students cry for justice as new Education Minister reverses age policy

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

Parents of students disqualified from university admissions owing to the under-age policy introduced by the former Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamnan, are voicing out to the new Minster Dr. Tunji Alausa, to ensure that their wards who were disqualified are offered admissions having met other requirements.
Speaking to this reporter, Hajiya Maryam Zakaria said her son scored 236 in his JAMB examination and scored the required marks in the post-UMTE examination but was disqualified because he was 16 years old.
According to her, Dr. Tunji Alausa’s decision to reverse the 18-year age benchmark for entry into tertiary institutions in Nigeria is a welcome one, and candidates who were disqualified because of their age should be immediately offered admission.
“Meanwhile, our children’s future is at stake as they were disqualified due to this policy. Therefore, we are demanding justice for our children, who were unfairly denied admission due to their age.”
Similarly, in a heartfelt interview with journalists in Kaduna on Wednesday, a parent from Kogi State recounted their distressing experience.
Their child, who achieved an impressive score of 259 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), was disqualified from the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) solely based on the age policy as the school issued a blunt statement, declaring the “student below the acceptable age for admission are disqualified,” leaving the family devastated.
The parents, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “We are overjoyed and relieved that the age requirement policy has been reversed. Our children’s future was unfairly held back due to an arbitrary rule. We urge the government to ensure its implementation is swift and seamless, giving our children the equal opportunities they deserve.”