The federal government has banned underage children from participating in the National Common Entrance Examination for admission into unity schools across the country.
Andrew Adejoh, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, made this known in Abuja on Saturday while monitoring the 2023 common entrance examinations into Unity Schools. The examination was organized by the National Examination Council.
According to the report, a total of 72,821 candidates sat for the examination on Saturday nationwide.
“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 are nine years old. We are doing many things; one, we are teaching the children the wrong values. Education is not about passing exams. Education is teaching, learning, and character formation.
“I beg the parents, let these children do the exams when they should. We don’t get value by pushing our children too far. Most of the time, if a child starts too early, he or she will 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 and understand, and be able to use. We are moving from 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 put a small child to go through all the rigors, and by the time he finishes secondary, getting to University becomes a problem. I had that experience with a friend. To date that friend did not get into a University, simply because he was put into school earlier than the age that he was supposed to be put into school.
“Let our children get to an appropriate age before writing this exam and we are going to make sure NECO puts in place appropriate checks. We didn’t want to get to the point where we would say “Bring a birth certificate,” but that is the stage we are going to now. In registering, also upload the child’s birth certificate, so that at our own end, we can cut some of these things,” Adejo said.
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