KEY POINTS
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JAMB will screen 500 underage candidates for exceptional performance.
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Candidates must meet strict academic benchmarks for consideration.
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Policy aligns with the 16-year university entry age rule.
Nigeria’s Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board will take an unprecedented step in the 2025/2026 academic cycle. It will screen more than 500 exceptional underage candidates for possible admission into tertiary institutions. The exercise, scheduled for September 22–26, will assess academic brilliance and readiness for the rigours of higher education.
JAMB screening targets top young performers
JAMB Registrar Ishaq Oloyede said three venues have been designated for the process—Lagos, Owerri, and Abuja. They will handle 397, 136, and 66 candidates, respectively. Out of over 41,000 underage candidates who took the 2025 UTME, only this small group qualified for further evaluation.
The screening will include subject-specific tests, oral interviews, and verification of West African Examinations Council results. “People have been doing it in other parts of the world. We are not reinventing the wheel,” Oloyede said, defending the initiative to admit only those who are truly exceptional and adequately prepared.
Balancing brilliance with age requirements
The policy follows the Ministry of Education’s rule setting 16 years as the minimum university entry age. Officials say it aims to discourage age falsification, shield young learners from premature academic pressure, and ensure their cognitive readiness matches their intellectual ability.
According to Punch, only those who scored at least 320 in UTME (80%), achieved 80 percent in post-UTME, and secured 80 percent in a single WAEC or NECO sitting will be considered. Some universities—including the Air Force Institute of Technology, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, University of Jos, and Osun State University—have already ruled out admitting underage students, regardless of performance.
