Panelists on a webinar organised by the Concerned Parents and Educators Initiative, CPE, have said limiting the age when candidates can write the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination, SSCE, to 18 will simply increase the number of Out-of-School children, OSC, in the country.
The panelists, which included school owners, students, educators, lawyers among others, called on the federal government to handle the issue from the foundation by ensuring that only children who are up to six years are in primary one
That, they noted, may not still mean all students would still leave secondary school at 18, as most would be within the age of 17.
They spoke during a webinar organised by the CPE.
The Founder of CPE, Yinka Ogunde, said that even in the olden days when parents were not fond of allowing their children to skip classes, some people wrote the exam at 16.
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“The big issue now is what becomes of students who are not up to 18 and are in SSS 3 class? There is no provision for taking care of such students in the gap year or years that will be created. The devil finds work for an idle hand. Implementing such a policy now will only just throw the affected students into disarray,” she noted.
Bryan Ebbi and Eworitse Wilbert, who are teenagers and who left secondary school before 18 years, said it would lead to more crime.
“I left secondary school at the age of 16. Thank God my parents knew the need for me to fill the gap years with something meaningful. I went ahead to learn some skills before going to the university. But, how many parents can do same for their children? To me the policy has to be well thought out and adequate preparations made,” Ebbi said.
On his part, Wilbert noted that idle youths could take to crime and more OSC created.
“Some parents may also take to making false age declarations for their wards and children. Also, affected students may take to crime and other illegal activities. The gap year is critical and how to fill the year with tangible and productive activities,” he stated.
In his contribution, Johnson Abbaly said with over 18 million OSC in the country, the number would just rise, as more than 70 percent of students currently in secondary schools could be less than 18 before getting to the terminal year.
Prof. Yomi Fawehinmi, a Nigerian lecturing in a Canadian university, said Mamman only flew a kite, adding that there was no law in the country stating 18 as the age to finish secondary school education and seeking admission to a higher institution.
Other contributors such as Helen Essien, Yemisi Akindele, Dr Bukola Dosunmu noted that attacking the issue of underaged students in higher institutions should start from primary school, when nobody is allowed to be in primary one unless he or she is up to six years.
