JAMB To Screen Over 500 Exceptional Under-16 Candidates For 2025/2026 Admission

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) will screen over 500 exceptional candidates below the age of 16 for possible admission into tertiary institutions for the 2025/2026 academic session. The exercise is scheduled to run from September 22 to 26, 2025. The decision, reached during a virtual meeting on Wednesday, follows the setting up of a special technical committee by JAMB to oversee the process. JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, revealed that three screening centres have been designated — Lagos (397 candidates), Owerri (136), and Abuja (66). He noted that of the 41,027 underage candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), over 40,000 failed to meet the initial eligibility criteria. “People have been doing it in other parts of the world. chelsea green nude We are not reinventing the wheel,” Oloyede stated. A subcommittee led by Prof. Taoheed Adedoja disclosed that the process would involve subject-specific tests, a short oral interview, and verification of WAEC results for some shortlisted candidates. This year’s UTME saw 1.955 million participants, with 599 scoring above 300 despite being under 16 — a situation that spurred the screening initiative in line with the Ministry of Education’s policy setting 16 as the minimum admission age. The initiative aims to ensure that only truly exceptional and cognitively mature underage candidates are admitted, while discouraging age falsification and protecting minors from undue academic pressure. Four universities — Air Force Institute of Technology (Kaduna), Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (Bauchi), University of Jos, and Osun State University — have already stated they will not admit underage candidates under any circumstances. To qualify, candidates must score at least 320 in the UTME (80%), secure a minimum of 80% in post-UTME, and achieve at least 80% (24/30 points) in a single sitting of WAEC or NECO.