Former Labour Party (LP) chieftain and actor, Kenneth Okonkwo, has disagreed with the position of the federal government that candidates under 18 years of age will no longer be allowed to sit for secondary school leaving examinations.
It would be recalled that the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, disclosed this on Sunday during a TV interview.
He said the Federal Government has instructed the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) which administers the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) which organises the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) to comply with the directive on 18 years age limit for any candidate to be eligible for the two examinations.
Mamman also insisted that the age limit for any candidate to write the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) remained 18 years.
The policy has continued to attract condemnation and criticism from several stakeholders.
In his reaction on Thursday, Okonkwo said the government policy which was made public recently by the education minister is unfortunate and undesirable.
He recounted a personal experience of some of the vices he picked up as a teenager when he stayed at home for one year before proceeding to a higher institution of learning.
The actor cum politician also noted that the current educational system in Nigeria makes it possible for students to conclude secondary education by 16 years of age and wondered why such students must be forced to stay at home and what they would be doing until they turn 18.
He cautioned against turning idle hands and minds into the devil’s workshop as a result of such government decisions.
Okonkwo, therefore, called for a reversal of the policy.
“Prof Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education’s statement that students must attain the age of 18 years before writing neco and jamb, is unfortunate and undesirable.
“This policy is personal to me because I completed my secondary school education at the age of 15 years plus and made excellent grades. The policy of jamb then was that every student must attain the age of 16 years before writing jamb. I had to voluntarily stay at home for a year to write jamb. The little little vices I picked up in my life as a teenager were when I stayed at home for a year. You can imagine if I had stayed at home for three years.
“Children start nursery classes at 2 years and take 3 years to complete them. This makes them start primary one at age 5 and finish at age 10. They get into secondary school at age 10 and finish at age 16 and should be allowed to get into university at age 16. I finished at age 15 because secondary education was for 5 years during our time.
“Keeping children idle for two years is making them susceptible to crimes and other antisocial behaviour as an idle mind is a devil’s workshop.
“The Minister should immediately revert to the 16-year benchmark for entering the university, not 18.
“It’s unfortunate that our old men in political positions want to entrench gerontocracy in our system and are already trying to enforce it on our children. Must this government get everything wrong?” Okonkwo wrote via his X account.
 chieftain and actor, Kenneth Okonkwo, has disagreed with the position of the federal government that candidates under 18 years of age will no longer be allowed to sit for secondary school leaving examinations.){kind=link}