The Executive Secretary of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB)Professor Ishiaq Olanrewaju Oloyede has commended Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State for encouraging mentorship and academic excellence in securing the future of the legendary university.
Oloyede also cautioned parents of admission seekers into Nigerian universities against age falsification of their children and wards in an attempt to meet the 18-year minimum age requirement, warning that by doing so, they’re pushing the children into the world of corruption and crimes.
He spoke on the sideline of the presentation of the Academic and Research Excellence Award to a renowned Ilorin-based legal giant and professor of practice, Yusuf Olaolu Ali (SAN), by the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Osun State.
The former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin said for universities to live up to their expectations as ivory towers, they must encourage and reward excellence in addition to promotion of scholarship and academic research.
Oloyede, who described the choice of the awardee as the “right choice”, said the decision of the OAU’s management to celebrate the awardee and the 2024 OAU university stars (scholars), was the right principle adopted in promoting scholarship and excellence.
He said:”My take home from this event is to demonstrate that universities have the potential for development and part of the development is to recognize the tools for development and to encourage development.
“The Obafemi Awolowo University has identified brilliance and it is customary to universities all over the world that brilliant students are tagged university scholars and they are encouraged to aspire to replace the current academics.
“They are planning for the future and by recognizing Yusuf Olaolu Ali. They are encouraging mentors so that they can mentor others and those other people they are mentoring can also mentor others. It’s a way of increasing our capacity to develop those who will develop the nation.”
On the age limit conversation, the JAMB Registrar said,”This year, the minimum age is 16, not 18.
How many brilliant students do you have at the end of the day? People are cutting corners instead of us to address the root of our problem, we’re making excuses.”
He added that “Primary school starts from age 6 and 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.
” I think it’s good that for this year it’s 16 years and anybody who is less than 16 and is going to university will not be admitted even though before now, some universities like UNILAG don’t give students less than age 16 admission.
“We’re just emphasizing the old policy and not creating a new one so there’s no need to fake your age to gain admission to the university because you are introducing this child to the world of corruption and crime.
“We’re not talking about educational attainment but we’re talking about pushing students beyond their biological age. You’re putting them through unnecessary stress because such a child is not mentally prepared for the curriculum,”he said.
