An education expert, Ebenezer Mbamalu, has strongly criticised the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s policy restricting candidates under 16 years from gaining tertiary admission, describing it as a poorly adapted foreign concept that punishes children for decisions made by adults.
Ebenezer Mbamalu, the Founder of Meclones Group, argued that the policy announced by Minister of Education Dr. Tunji Alausa on July 8, 2025, during a JAMB policy meeting in Abuja, unfairly penalizes young learners who were not responsible for their early enrollment in school.
Speaking during an interview with The Guardian at the Oriental Hotel in Lekki, Lagos State, Mbamalu revealed that despite 599 candidates scoring above the 80% benchmark set for underage students, only 85 gained admission, leaving 514 stranded without academic options.
“About 599 candidates scored above 80%, but only 85 were admitted, leaving 514 stranded. I call it ‘on the streets’ because no national institution can take them in due to their age. It is worrisome to see brilliant minds roaming the streets simply because the system shut its doors on them,” Mbamalu stated.
The education expert traced the problem to what he described as a “copy and paste policy” borrowed from Western countries without proper adaptation to Nigeria’s circumstances.
“I call it a copy and paste policy because it was not properly thought through. In most Western countries, the benchmark age is 18, but they have a structured system that tracks children from the point of entry into school. Here, the children are made scapegoats,” he explained.
Mbamalu argued that children should not bear responsibility for early enrolment decisions driven by parents and school owners responding to socioeconomic pressures.
“As a school owner, I know that when parents pay high fees, they expect results. Schools then push children ahead academically. You see a child who should be playing at a certain stage already learning advanced concepts. Yet, neither the parents nor the schools are sanctioned. Instead, the child is punished at the end of the journey,” he noted.
He proposed comprehensive reforms aimed at education, which include enforcing minimum age requirements for admittance to primary and secondary schools. He suggested that candidates for common entrance examinations should be at least 10 or 11 years old. Mbamalu also recommended imposing sanctions on schools that admit underage students and establishing a centralized tracking system similar to the National Identification Number issued at birth.
Describing the current policy as creating lives without solutions, Mbamalu warned that prolonged idleness exposes affected students to negative influences.
“Some of these students scored as high as 330, yet they are left idle at home. If they retake the exam, they may not perform as well because they have lost academic momentum. We must ask: what are they doing at home? Who is guiding them? What kind of content are they exposed to? A policy should not disrupt lives without providing solutions,” he cautioned.
He urged JAMB to review the policy and create mechanisms for universities to accommodate qualified underage candidates.
Last Updated on February 25, 2026 by Ola Funmilayo
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