JAMB Registrar Warns Parents to Avoid Falsifying Ages for University Admission

By Kehinde Balogun

The Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, has issued a stern warning to parents attempting to falsify their children’s age to meet the minimum age requirement for university admission in Nigeria.

He cautioned that such actions could start their children down a path of corruption and criminal behaviour.

Professor Oloyede gave this warning during the presentation of the Academic and Research Excellence Award to Yusuf Olaolu Ali (SAN), by Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State.

At the event, Oloyede, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, emphasized the importance of universities in promoting excellence and rewarding academic achievements.

Addressing the issue of age limits for university admissions, Professor Oloyede clarified that the minimum age for admission this year is 16 and not 18.

He also criticized the trend of cutting corners to meet these requirements, urging parents and institutions to focus on addressing the root causes of such practices.

Commending universities such as the University of Lagos (UNILAG), which has long upheld the policy of not admitting students under the age of 16, he noted that this practice should be more widely adopted across the country.

Oloyede questioned the rationale behind pushing students into university before they are biologically ready, emphasizing that it is in the students’ best interests to follow the proper educational timeline.“

Primary school starts from age 6 and a child should undergo 12 years of training before going to university. It’s not a new policy. Fortunately, the honourable minister has agreed that this year it’ll be 16. We should get our acts right and we should agree that abnormality is becoming normal.“

How can you say 50% of the class are extra brilliant? What are we seeing at the end of the day? People are cutting corners and are acting against the interest of the students. Why do you want to prematurely produce a person that is not ready biologically?” he queried.