JAMB to screen over 500 exceptional underage candidates for 2025/2026 admissions

By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) will conduct a special screening exercise for more than 500 outstanding candidates below the age of 16 who are seeking admission into tertiary institutions for the 2025/2026 academic session.

The screening will take place from September 22 to 26, 2025.

According to resolutions from a virtual meeting held on Wednesday, the exercise will be overseen by a special technical committee set up by JAMB.

JAMB registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, announced that three centres have been designated for the process: Lagos (397 candidates), Owerri (136 candidates), and Abuja (66 candidates).

Oloyede explained that of the 41,027 underage candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), over 40,000 did not meet the initial qualification criteria.

The screening aims to ensure that only the most exceptional and adequately prepared underage candidates are considered for admission.

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

A subcommittee led by Prof. Taoheed Adedoja reported that the assessment will include subject-specific tests and a brief oral interview. JAMB will also request detailed results from the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to verify the eligibility of some shortlisted candidates before interviews.

Participants in the meeting included heads of tertiary institutions, representatives of government agencies, civil society groups, members of the Nigerian Academy of Education, and the principal of the Federal Government Gifted Academy, Suleja.

Out of the 1.955 million candidates who wrote the 2025 UTME, 599 scored above 300 but fell below the minimum admission age of 16 — a policy set by the Federal Ministry of Education.

JAMB stressed that the policy is intended to ensure candidates are mentally and psychologically ready for higher education, as well as to discourage age falsification and protect young learners from undue parental pressure.

Only candidates meeting stringent academic benchmarks — at least 320 in UTME (80%), 80% in post-UTME, and 80% (24/30 points) in a single WAEC or NECO sitting — will be considered.

Four universities, namely the Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; University of Jos; and Osun State University, have already declared they will not admit underage candidates under any circumstances.

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