Policies are pertinent decisions that can aid or mar a country’s development.
This is why, when a country makes new policies, it is not enough for there to be effective channels for implementing them. It is also crucial to consider the effects these policies may have on citizens’ well-being, particularly children and young people who are still in school.
Creating education policies is a back-breaking process that requires the foresight of stakeholders. These policies influence the education discipline and set the rules that guide its operations.
University admission is a vital step in a student’s academic journey, and the criteria for selecting candidates can greatly impact both individuals and society. In Nigeria and many other countries, there are debates over whether age or academic merit should be the main requirement for admission.
This expository attempt will argue for the rationale that academic merit should determine university admission, discussing its benefits and proffering ways forward to accomplish them.
According to UNESCO, the main mission in education is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. Two important keywords in this mission are ‘inclusivity’ and ‘equity’.
This infers that any policy formulated for the education sector should be inclusive of all individuals within the educational system and must ensure that personal or social circumstances do not hinder learners from reaching their full educational potential. These personal and social circumstances include age, gender, ethnic origin, economic status or family background. If anything should, these factors should not be deterrents to obtaining an education.
While education is a process that promotes inclusion, regardless of diversity or discrimination, some factors must serve as benchmarks to ensure it maintains its purpose. One of these is academic merit. This factor is significant in any admission process – most especially, university admission, which will be the focal view of this discourse.
Academic merit encompasses a student’s achievements and performance in their studies. This quality is usually measured through test scores, grades and sometimes extracurriculars related to learning. In a Nigerian setting, academic merit as a criterion of admission is determined by passing the O’ Level examination and the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Board (UTME) exam, in most cases.
These, depending on a candidate’s choice of institution, may be followed by taking an internal examination or screening to secure admission. The series of examinations is a filter process to select from thousands of applicants.
Using academic merit as the basis of university admission, rather than some other personal factor like age, provides a standardised method to assess candidates. This system encourages excellence by improving the culture of intellectual growth across the country. The merit-based system would benefit students who are passionate about education and general acquisition of knowledge. Consequently, it would revive the dying reading culture.
Also, an academic-merit criterion for university admission would aid in the optimal utilisation of the limited resources available to institutions by students who are most likely to contribute to national growth. Efficiency in resource usage has been proven to result in the significant growth of organisations and this method obtains in an educational system, also. Providing academically capable students with access to university education contributes to the development of a skilled workforce, which is essential for national progress.
Adopting an academic-merit-based model would significantly reduce the infiltration of nepotism and corruption in the admission process. It is an implicitly understood truth that admissions officials and civil servants misuse their positions to manipulate entry results for their preferred applicants. However, if stringent measures like a merit system that allows no chance for foul play are put in place, favouritism in the education sector will be nearly non-existent.
Conversely, using age as a determinant of an individual’s future endeavours is neither a product of strategic planning nor a decision that serves the best interests of students or the nation as a whole. It is a resolution that is influenced by sentiments rather than empirical validation. The assumption that a student is not mature enough for a university admission because of their chronological age is bound to have a boomerang effect. This supposition begs the question: what maturity is more important for comprehension – chronological maturity or cognitive maturity?
Many Nigerian universities often back up the rationale for the adoption of the policy that limits admission age with the point being that individuals under the age limit are not mature enough to cope with the demands of tertiary Institutions. This suggests that policymakers are more concerned about chronological age.
If universities conducted psychological tests for aspirants, they would realise that the cognitive maturity of applicants has greater relevance to academic performance. A study by Odukoya et al. (2019) confirms that the least mature students, in terms of chronological age, consistently featured significantly higher academic performances than the average and most mature students.
In July 2024, Tahir Mamman, the former Minister of Education of Nigeria, imposed a retrogressive policy that enforced a ban on students under the age of 18 from sitting the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination and National Examinations Council examination.
This extremism caused outrage in the country as parents were worried for the future of their children in a country where the average number of years spent in a university is five, all because of disruptions like strikes. The reaction was the opposite when the president of the nation dismissed Mamman in October 2024. However, his successor, Morufu Olatunji Alausa reverted the age of university admission to 16 in November 2024.
These restrictions connote the reality of the country – myopic leaders are present in all sectors making shallow decisions.
In light of this, policymakers should prioritize decisions that are both sustainable and advantageous, including ensuring that academic merit becomes the primary criterion for university admission.
To achieve the aforementioned, the Nigerian government should get aid from ECOWAS.
Nigeria can receive grants from ECOWAS to improve its entrance examination systems, thereby ensuring that all students get fair opportunities based on merit. These aid programmes could also include exchange schemes and scholarships that value academic excellence, pushing Nigerian universities to remain competitive and attract top students.
Additionally, there should be allowances for students who demonstrate exceptional academic abilities to enrol in university education at an earlier age.
Nigeria should emulate countries like Algeria and Mauritius whose education systems are flexible. In these countries, outstanding students who are below the standard age are allowed admission into a university. These efforts have made Mauritius the third-best education system in Africa.
The government should also be ready to take countermeasures that would tackle potential drawbacks that might arise.
Public schools should be improved so students from educationally disadvantaged areas can compete fairly.
Also, smart students from poor areas should be awarded scholarships to support their education.
In conclusion, while education must remain inclusive and equitable, the basis of university admission should still rest on academic merit rather than a personal factor like age.
Academic merit makes certain of a standardised process and also promotes excellence, dissuades corruption and encourages bright minds to contribute to national development.
Flexible policies, unlike arbitrary restrictions, are more likely to yield benefits for individuals and society. By seeking support, Nigeria can build a stronger education system that rewards hard work and recognises talent.
REFERENCES
Alvarez, S. (2012). Arguing Academic Merit: Meritocracy and the Rhetoric of the Personal
Statement. Journal of Basic Writing, Vol. 31.
Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation. (2024). Federal Government
Reverts Admission Age to 16 at Ministerial Inaugural Briefing.
Odukoya, J.A. et al. (2019). Admission Policy in Universities: In Search of Empirical
Evidence. International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research. Vol. 8, Issue 12.
Onebunne, J.I., Pantaleon, K.I. (2021). Questioning the Outstanding Criteria for Admission
Into Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria. Nnadiebube Journal for Education in Africa (NJEA), Vol. 6, No. 1.
Punchng.com. (2024). Mamman on Path to Destroying Education.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/punchng.com/mamman-on-path-to-destroying-education/%3famp
The Chanzo Initiative. Why Nigeria New University Admissions Policy is Backward and
Anti-Human Rights.
UNESCO. (n.d.). Education Policies and Strategies.
https://www.unesco.org/en/education-policies
This piece is written by Hairat Balogun.
Wow, a very enlightening write up.
In as much as academic merit should be used for university admissions, do you think Nigeria and Nigerian universities- private, state and federal- has policies and sufficient environment to cater to the needs of underage potential students.
I think those insufficient policies, facilities and environment are what we need to address with pressure on government for policies that address them. That is the structural deficiency that we should address, rather than make age (something we have no control over) a deficiency.