A 15-year-old student has sued the education ministry, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and the National Universities Commission (NUC) over Nigeria’s tertiary institution admission age policy.

The senior secondary student, Chinaemere Opara, filed the suit at the federal high court in Abuja through his lawyer father Maxwell Opara.

In the originating motion marked “FHC/ABJ/CS/1512/2024”, dated September 30, and filed October 14 by Wayne Elijah, the SS2 student listed the ministry, JAMB, and NUC as first to third respondents respectively.

In July, the education ministry introduced a policy adopting 18 as the minimum age for tertiary institution admissions.

It said the policy, which is to take effect in 2025, will ensure candidates are mature enough to deal with the rigours of tertiary education.

It further said candidates who do not spend the required years in primary and secondary school would not be allowed to write the SSCE.

The age policy has been critiqued, with stakeholders concerned that exceptional students could be unduly shut out of tertiary education.

In his six reliefs, Opara sought a declaration that the admission age policy was “discriminatory and unconstitutional”.

He said it amounted to a gross violation of his right to freedom of expression as guaranteed under Sections 42 of the 1999 Constitution, 2011 (as amended) and Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 13(2), 17 and 28 of the African Charter on Human and People Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act Cap A9 Vol. 1 LFN.

He urged the court to declare that his right to peaceful assembly and association cannot be limited by the respondents’ admission policy.

He also sought a declaration that the policy which restricts his age as to when to enrol to write the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) and JAMB exams infringed on his right to equal access to public service.

This, he said, is guaranteed under Article 13(2) and (3) of the African Charter on Human and People Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act Cap A9 Vol. 1 LFN.

Opara sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from attempting to disturb, breach, or interfere with his rights.

He equally sought an order setting aside the policy.

In the affidavit deposed to by Maxwell, he said he is the biological father of Chinaemere.

He said Chinaemere is an SS2 student of Sure Start Secondary School who is directly affected by the respondents’ minimum age for admission policy.

He said the policy had impeded Chinaemere’s right to freedom from age discrimination and education as enshrined in the law.

“The applicant believes that his right to education has been or is likely to be violated,” he said.

“The applicant would enter SS 3 in this 2024/2025 academic session with his plan/arrangements of writing his WAEC, NECO AND JAMB in 2025 with his expectations of gaining admission in 2025/2026 university academic sessions.

“The applicant wants to study medicine & surgery whose duration is six years along with a mandatory one-year youth service and one-year compulsory medical externship totalling all eight years.”

The suit is yet to be assigned to a judge at the time of filing the report.

Deakin University’s Faculty of Health has opened applications for the Deakin Global Health Leaders Scholarship.

Applications are now open but will end at Trimester 3, 2025, which falls between November and February.

According to the institution, this scholarship is intended for international students looking to pursue advanced studies in health and offers a 20% reduction in tuition fees for eligible courses to help lessen financial costs.

Details inform that international students can apply for the Deakin Global Health Leaders Scholarship when enrolling in several specified programs.

The eligible courses include:

• Master of Health Promotion (H759),
• Master of Public Health (H757),
• Master of Health Economics (H704),
• Master of Health Management (H756), and
• Master of Nutrition and Population Health (H748).

To qualify for the Deakin Global Health Leaders Scholarship, applicants must have an overall equivalent Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of 65% in their Bachelor’s degree.

• Applicants should have met the English and academic requirements for entry to their selected course
• Applicants should also not have accepted any other Deakin scholarship or bursary

Scholarship Details 

The Deakin Global Health Leaders Scholarship offers a 20% discount on the total indicative tuition fee, as outlined in the offer letter. This reduction applies for the standard duration of the selected course.

The university also highlights that other fees not covered by the scholarship may apply; and that the scholarship does not extend beyond the normal duration of the course, even if students undertake repeated or additional units.

This means that while the scholarship provides a tuition discount, additional fees may not be included. It also clarifies that the scholarship will only cover the standard length of the course and will not be extended if students take extra classes or repeat any units.

In regards to school fees, the institution states that tuition fees differ based on one’s course and start year. Deakin University encouraged interested students to use its fee estimator tool to get an idea of study costs.

Application Process 

The application process for this scholarship is straight forward. Interested applicants should apply for one of the eligible courses mentioned in the call letter. By doing so, they will automatically be considered for the Deakin Global Health Leaders Scholarship.

More details about the application process can be found on the university’s website.

Deakin University further urged that Interested applicants should ensure they meet the eligibility requirements and apply before the deadline to benefit from this financial support.

Tanko Ishaya, the vice chancellor of University of Jos (UNIJOS), has expressed concern over the institution’s inadequate infrastructure, particularly the shortage of hostel accommodations for students.

Ishaya spoke during a courtesy visit from the varsity’s faculty of law 1988 alumni on Saturday.

The VC revealed that out of the 45,000 students, only seven percent have access to on-campus housing.

Ishaya said the university management is exploring public-private partnerships to address the challenge and increase hostel capacity.

”As we speak only seven per cent of our students live within the campus against the global standard of 40 percent,” he said.

”This is due to shortage of hostel accommodation; so over 90 per cent of students live off campus.

”We are making efforts to address this concern through public-private partnership.”

Ishaya also lamented the high cost of electricity on campus, which he said has “risen to over N80 million per month”.

However, he assured that efforts are underway to develop a solar farm, providing a sustainable power solution for the institution and its host community.

On his part, Caleb Mutfwang, governor of Plateau who is an alumnus of UNIJOS, pledged his continued support for the institution.

Represented by Rauta Dakok, former head of service, Mutfwang also commended the school management for maintaining academic standards.

Earlier, Emeka Etieba, the senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and leader of the 1988 faculty of law class, revealed that their visit aimed to identify challenges facing the university and explore potential interventions.