JAMB Raises Age Limit for Under-16 Candidates

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has revealed that exceptionally talented applicants under the age of 16 seeking admission into higher education institutions must achieve a minimum score of 320 in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), in addition to fulfilling other strict criteria.

This announcement coincided with JAMB’s inauguration of a 24-member committee led by the board’s registrar, tasked with screening the 599 gifted children who obtained scores above 320 in the 2025 UTME for admission into various universities nationwide.

Additional requirements set for these exceptionally gifted candidates under 16 include achieving at least 80 percent in the post-UTME, securing a minimum of 80 percent in their Senior School Certificate Examination, and successfully passing an interview.

During a virtual meeting with vice chancellors and admissions officials in Abuja, Oloyede emphasized that the Board would no longer tolerate the “academic exploitation” of pressuring psychologically and emotionally unprepared children into the demands of university life.

Oloyede noted that out of the more than 38,000 underage candidates who applied for admission, only 599 managed to score 320 or higher in the UTME, substantiating the need for stricter measures.

This initiative follows a government policy establishing 16 years as the official minimum age for admission to higher education while allowing exceptions for high-performing candidates under this age.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, presented this policy at the 2025 JAMB policy meeting, stating its purpose is to ensure cognitive maturity and academic readiness while addressing the rising issue of underage candidates in Nigerian universities.

Reiterating that the minimum age for entering tertiary education remains at 16, Oloyede asserted that underage candidates would only be considered based on evident exceptional academic performance.

He clarified that to be eligible for consideration, under-16 candidates must satisfy three academic requirements: a minimum UTME score of 320 out of 400 (80 percent), a post-UTME score of at least 80 percent, and a minimum of 80 percent in a single sitting of WAEC or NECO, totaling 24 points out of 30.

Oloyede also prohibited the use of results from different examination bodies combined, such as mixing WAEC and NECO results for this category of candidates, stressing that science students must include mathematics among their top subjects, while arts students must include English.

He encouraged relevant institutions to evaluate all under-16 candidates through a specialized post-UTME, irrespective of whether the school has suspended such procedures for the general admission applicant pool.

This assessment will gauge the candidates’ capabilities to justify their admission before the minimum age requirement of 16 years arrives on September 30.

IN ADDITION, the Air Force Institute of Technology in Kaduna, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi, the University of Jos, and Osun State University do not accept underage students for admission.