The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that it will screen over 500 outstanding candidates under the age of 16 who are seeking admission into tertiary institutions for the 2025/2026 academic session.
According to the Board, the screening will take place from September 22 to 26 across three designated centres in Lagos, Abuja, and Owerri. The exercise will be overseen by a special technical committee inaugurated by JAMB to evaluate the readiness of these underage candidates for higher education.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, revealed during a virtual meeting of the committee that Lagos will screen 397 candidates, Owerri 136, and Abuja 66. He noted that out of the 41,027 underage candidates who sat for the 2025 UTME, only 599 scored above 300, and more than 40,000 did not meet the minimum criteria to be considered for screening.
Oloyede stressed that the initiative is not new globally and is intended to admit only those who are academically exceptional and emotionally mature enough for university life.
The screening process, as detailed by Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, head of the assessment subcommittee, will involve subject-specific tests followed by a brief oral interview. The committee also resolved to seek result verification from WAEC for eligible candidates before the interviews.
This move follows a recent policy direction from the Federal Ministry of Education, which maintains 16 years as the minimum age for tertiary education entry. The screening seeks to balance academic excellence with cognitive and emotional maturity, helping to curb age falsification and protect candidates from excessive parental pressure.
JAMB further disclosed that four institutions—Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; University of Jos; and Osun State University—have declined to admit underage candidates, regardless of their academic scores.
To qualify for consideration, underage candidates must meet stringent benchmarks, including a minimum UTME score of 320, at least 80 percent in post-UTME, and a minimum of 80 percent (24 out of 30 points) in a single WAEC or NECO sitting.
Stakeholders present at the virtual meeting included heads of tertiary institutions, government agencies, civil society groups, members of the Nigerian Academy of Education, and the principal of the Federal Government Gifted Academy, Suleja.
The initiative underscores JAMB’s commitment to maintaining quality and integrity in Nigeria’s higher education admission process.
