Thumbs up for JAMB for disqualifying U-15 applicants
By Motolani AbdulGafar
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has been credited by educationists and JAMB accredited centres in Ejigbo for disqualifying applicants between the ages of 14 and 15 years from writing the 2021 examination.
The experts are of the opinion that the JAMB’s decision will help orientate parents/guardians on some dangerous decisions they take on their children’s education.
The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is’haq Oloyede, had ordered that applicants between the age bracket be disqualified to participate in the examination based on his experience when he visited some registration centres.
In a chat with ECHONEWS, the Principal of De Gloryland College, Ejigbo, Mrs. Sophia Onojaefe advised that parents and guardians should rather enrol their wards for skill acquisition programmes.
Her words: “JAMB’s order disallowing them to register for the examination is for their own benefit because children of that age can be easily exploited on getting to school. By the time they graduate, you will find out that a greater percentage of them are either into cultism or living ungodly life.
“The rate of unemployment would continue to increase inasmuch as the birth rate of our country increases. The best thing for every individual is to have a skill that will make them self employed after schooling.”
Onojaefe believes that the production of an educated entrepreneur would be much better than that of a non-educated person which is where the essence of their education comes to play.
She urged parents and guardians to stop giving the orientation that learning vocational skills is for the uneducated ones alone.
Also speaking, the owner of a JAMB accredited Centre in Ejigbo, Emmanuel Ilyana, said the safety of teenagers is more pertinent than pushing their education faster than necessary.
“To me, the fact that the teenager is brilliant does not mean we should restrict their level of education to only western one. I believe education encompasses all aspects of learning.
“Safety of our wards should come first before any other thing. The fact that a teenager graduates early does not even guarantee a readymade job with the situation of our country. The essence of education is to become relevant in whichever environment we find ourselves.”
