The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) will screen more than 500 outstanding candidates under the age of 16 who are seeking admission into tertiary institutions for the 2025/2026 academic session. The exercise will take place from September 22 to 26.

The decision, announced after a virtual meeting on Wednesday, will be overseen by a special technical committee. JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, said the screening will hold at three centres: Lagos (397 candidates), Owerri (136), and Abuja (66).

Of the 41,027 underage candidates who took the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), over 40,000 did not meet the initial criteria. This screening will identify those who are truly exceptional and academically ready despite their age.

“People have been doing it in other parts of the world. We are not reinventing the wheel,” Oloyede said.

The subcommittee, chaired by Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, outlined that the process will include subject-specific tests, oral interviews, and verification of West African Examinations Council (WAEC) results for some shortlisted candidates.

The virtual meeting drew participants from tertiary institutions, government agencies, civil society organisations, the Nigerian Academy of Education, and the Federal Government Gifted Academy, Suleja.

Out of the 1.955 million UTME candidates this year, 599 scored above 300 but were below the minimum admission age of 16, prompting the new policy. The initiative aligns with the Ministry of Education’s directive on age requirements, aiming to balance academic brilliance with cognitive maturity, curb age falsification, and shield young learners from undue parental pressure.

Four institutions — the Air Force Institute of Technology (Kaduna), Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (Bauchi), University of Jos, and Osun State University — have already stated they will not admit underage students under any circumstances.

Only candidates meeting all three benchmarks — at least 320 in UTME (80%), a minimum 80% in post-UTME, and 80% (24/30 points) in one WAEC or NECO sitting — will be considered for admission.

JAMB to Screen Over 500 Underage High-Scorers for 2025/2026 Admission

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