The Federal Government has reaffirmed that 16 years remains the minimum age for admission into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across Nigeria, following a fresh review of entry policies for tertiary institutions.

Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the decision at the Policy Meeting on Admissions to Tertiary Institutions in Abuja, where regulators, vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts gathered to set the ground rules for the next admission cycle.

Alausa said the age benchmark was upheld after extensive consultations with key stakeholders, including the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, institutional heads and education experts. The goal, he explained, is to ensure that candidates possess not only the academic qualifications but also the emotional and social maturity required for higher education.

He described the policy as a deliberate attempt to balance access with quality, noting that pressure from some parents to push underage children into tertiary institutions has raised concerns about student welfare, campus discipline and learning outcomes.

The minister acknowledged that there are exceptionally gifted candidates who complete secondary school earlier than their peers. However, he stressed that such cases would be treated as exceptions under a clearly defined framework, with strict safeguards to protect standards and prevent abuse.

According to Alausa, the guidelines for early admission will require institutions to conduct additional assessments of readiness, beyond examination scores, to ensure that younger candidates can cope with the academic and social demands of tertiary life.

He also announced targeted policy adjustments for specific disciplines, particularly Education and Agriculture-related programmes. Under the new framework, institutions offering these courses may apply more flexible admission considerations, within national standards, to attract and retain students in fields seen as critical to Nigeria’s development.

The age policy formed part of wider deliberations at the meeting, which also covered institutional quotas, admission timelines and the use of cut-off marks for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. Officials said the overarching objective is to create a more coherent and predictable admission process while safeguarding the integrity of Nigeria’s tertiary education system.