The Traffic

: New Age Limit for WAEC, NECO Exams - FG

Yakubu Haruna 

The Federal Government has announced that candidates under the age of 18 will no longer be allowed to take secondary school leaving examinations administered by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO).

Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, made this declaration on Channels Television's 'Sunday Politics' program, emphasizing that both WAEC and NECO must enforce an 18-year age limit for candidates taking the WASSCE and SSCE exams, respectively.

This policy, which is not new but a reinforcement of existing regulations, aims to ensure that students meet the required age of 18 before taking the exams. The minister clarified that this age limit is calculated based on the number of years students spend in school, from early child care to senior secondary school.

Consequently, WAEC and NECO will no longer allow underage candidates to write their examinations. The age limit for candidates taking the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), administered by JAMB, also remains set at 18 years.

This move aims to standardize the age requirement for secondary school leaving examinations and university admission in Nigeria.