Registering underage pupils for common entrance dangerous – FG

Forum 10 months ago

Registering underage pupils for common entrance dangerous – FG

The Federal Ministry of Education has warned parents and guardians to desist from enrolling underage children for entrance examinations. It described the practice as dangerous to the children, and that stricter measures would be put in place to ensure that underaged candidates were denied admissions into unity schools.

The permanent secretary in the ministry, Andrew Adejoh, stated this in Abuja on Saturday while monitoring the 2023 common entrance examinations into unity schools. The examination was organised by the National Examination Council.

A total of 72,821 candidates sat the exam on Saturday nationwide.

Adejo said, “This year, I have advice for parents and I beg you, take this advice to any single home you know. We are killing our children by allowing underage children to write the common entrance examination. I saw children that I know that are not up to 10, and three of them accepted that they were nine years old. We are teaching the children the wrong values. Education is not about passing exams. Education is teaching, learning and character formation.

“I beg parents; let these children sit the exams when they should. We don’t get value by pushing your child too fast. Most times, if a child starts too early, they would have problems later in life. Education is designed in such a way that at any particular stage in life, there are messages your brain can take, understand and be able to use.

“We are moving from an education that is reliant on reading textbooks and passing exams. We are getting to a stage where education is what you can use your knowledge to do for society. You push a child to go through all the rigours, by the time they finish secondary school, getting to the university becomes a problem. I had that experience with a friend. Till date, that child did not get into a university, simply because he was put in school earlier than the age he was supposed to.”

He said the government would make sure NECO put in place appropriate checks, but that if things do not change, pupils might be asked to present their birth certificates.

“That is the stage we are going to now,” he stated. “During registration, we also upload the child’s birth certificate so that at our own end, we are able to cut some of these things.”

He said the efforts of the Federal Government and other stakeholders in encouraging girl child education were yielding fruits, as he revealed that the number of girls that registered for the exam this year was 38,000 above the previous year.

The Registrar of NECO, Prof Dantani Wushishi, said the conduct of the examination was generally smooth and orderly, adding that from the reports received from across the country, the examination was hitch-free.

While confirming that 72,821 candidates registered for the 2023 National Common Entrance Examination, Wushishi disclosed that Lagos State had the highest number of enrollment followed by the Federal Capital Territory, while the state with the lowest registration, Kebbi, had about 115 registered candidates.