JAMB Approves 85 Underage Students for Special Admission
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has revealed that 85 underage candidates have successfully completed its thorough screening process for exceptional admission into higher education institutions.
In a statement released on Monday by its Head of Media, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, JAMB noted that these 85 candidates, all of whom are under 16 years old as of September 2025, qualified after an extensive, multi-stage evaluation.
“Following a careful evaluation, we have officially informed 85 candidates deemed qualified to proceed to their respective institutions to finalize the admission process and print their individual JAMB admission letters.
“This exceptional admission policy aligns with international best practices, where such cases are handled as rare occurrences rather than standard procedures,” the statement indicated.
JAMB clarified that from a total of 2,031,133 candidates for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), 41,027 sought consideration under this special category.
“Within this special category, 599 candidates achieved the 80% threshold in the UTME.
“These 599 candidates underwent additional scrutiny of their school certificates and PUTME screening, resulting in 182 qualified candidates (178+4).
“After a thorough verification process, interviews, and assessments, 85 candidates were determined to meet the required criteria and have been cleared for admission,” the Board continued.
JAMB also encouraged any final candidates who missed the last interview to formally submit a request through its support system.
“Candidates from the 182 finalists who, for a legitimate reason, were unable to attend the final interview are encouraged to formally request through the JAMB Support Ticketing System – https://support.jamb.gov.ng under the newly introduced category named ‘2025 Underage Complaint.’
“Such requests will be individually reviewed, and decisions will be based solely on their specific circumstances. This opportunity is exclusively for the 182 finalists who may have missed the final interview for any reason.”
The statement further noted that “candidates who achieved a score of 320 and above in the UTME but did not upload their O-Level results and were therefore disqualified will now have two days (i.e., until Wednesday, 29th October 2025) to upload their results and inform the Board through the ticketing platform.”
The Board reiterated its dedication to upholding transparency, inclusiveness, and academic integrity across all levels of tertiary education in Nigeria.
PUNCH Online recalls that JAMB previously stated on October 16 that only candidates who would turn 16 by August 2025 would be eligible for admission to tertiary institutions.
This directive followed the new policy introduced by the Ministry of Education, which sets 18 years as the minimum age for admission to higher education institutions.
The announcement sparked significant backlash.
A former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Warri branch, John Aikpokpo-Martins, took legal action against the admission board, which led to a court order preventing the board from enforcing the new policy.
After JAMB established a screening process for underage students to be eligible for exceptional admission into higher education institutions.
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