JAMB Age Policy 2025: What Every Student Must Know
MAJOR Bowen contends that the policy constitutes a war against intellectual growth.
Education is not a privilege; it is an essential human right. International agreements, of which Nigeria is a signatory, have long stated that education should be free, compulsory, and accessible to all without discrimination. Yet, in Nigeria, we continue to quietly wage a war against our own most promising minds.
In February 2025, the judiciary of this country decided what should have been clear from the start: that the so-called “minimum age” of 16 for university entrance is unconstitutional. This ruling deemed the practice discriminatory, affirming that talent knows no age. However, in typical arrogance, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has disregarded the courts, adamantly maintaining the very policy deemed invalid.
It is utterly outrageous for JAMB to seek a stay on the court’s ruling. How can JAMB even dare to do so in a matter concerning children’s rights to education? This is not merely arrogance; JAMB’s actions verge on institutional criminality. The JAMB Board acts as though it operates independently of the law, as if it is superior to the Constitution. It should be immediately disbanded. No institution, regardless of its power, is above the law. Using legal technicalities to deny Nigerian children their right to quality education is reckless and inexcusable.
What has ensued is an absurd spectacle, a farce masquerading as ‘policy.’ Children labeled as “underage” are compelled to sign oaths like offenders categorized as “exceptional” and then subjected to an unmanageable series of unattainable standards: 280, then 320 out of 400, nearly perfect WAEC scores. This manifestly declares war on giftedness, vilifying intelligence as if it were a crime to be restrained rather than a talent to be cultivated.
The statistics expose the flaws of the policy. Nearly 40 percent of JAMB’s own applicants, around 800,000 out of two million, are technically ‘underage,’ and they are not the slow learners. They are frequently the top scorers, whose results JAMB once attempted to suppress, only to be revealed when their excellence could no longer be concealed. On the other hand, their older counterparts, supposedly ‘psychologically ready,’ faltered at the benchmarks: three-quarters of them couldn’t even achieve the 200 mark, lowering the national cut-off to a lamentable 150. If age were the true determinant of academic maturity, the data would reflect that. They do not.
History, too, underscores the absurdity of JAMB’s rationale. The Imafidon family from Edo State, celebrated in Britain as the “brainiest family,” has demonstrated the outcomes of enabling genius rather than restricting it. Excelling in advanced mathematics at nine. Gaining admission to Oxford at 13. A family of Nigerian heritage illustrating that genius does not conform to age. Globally, societies that embrace giftedness foster innovation. In Nigeria, we insist on imposing limitations.
And the repercussions are significant. By postponing admissions, we hinder our most talented children from entering the global job market in a timely manner, where employers often prefer graduates in their early twenties. What begins as bureaucratic rigidity transforms into a lifelong disadvantage in employment, research, and innovation. This is not simply poor policy; it is a form of national self-sabotage.
Nigeria needs to confront this alarming truth: when the system obstructs eager learners from gaining an education, it does not result in idleness; instead, it pushes them directly into accessible markets of wrongdoing. Yahoo fraud for young men and prostitution for young women. These are the alternative “industries” flourishing in our country where educational institutions fail.
The sad reality is that Nigeria has experienced this before. From the early years of independence, when our universities were shining examples of African scholarship, to the bleak periods marked by inconsistent policies and underfunding, the narrative of Nigerian education has consistently been one of potential wasted by bureaucratic inefficiencies. Presently, we find ourselves repeating this cycle, restricting the very intellects that could rescue us.
Let’s be clear: no regulation should be considered untouchable. Education, the driving force behind national development, cannot remain shackled to antiquated rules. A compassionate system evolves; it doesn’t stifle. Nigeria’s future rests not on how rigidly we enforce obsolete regulations but on how thoughtfully we nurture our children’s talents.
JAMB and the Ministry of Education need to eliminate this intellectual segregation. At the very least, there should be a designated admissions opportunity for outstanding candidates who have demonstrated their preparedness, regardless of their age. Ideally, the policy should be completely abolished. Nigeria cannot afford to close the door on learning for its most gifted youth. To continue down this path is to undermine the fundamental principle of education as a right, rather than a privilege. Allow genius to escape bureaucracy. Let talent flourish. The future of the nation relies on it.
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