The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced plans to screen more than 500 exceptional candidates under the age of 16 seeking admission into tertiary institutions for the 2025/2026 academic session.
The screening exercise will hold from September 22 to 26, 2025, across three designated centres in Lagos, Abuja, and Owerri. Speaking during a virtual meeting on Wednesday, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, detailed the arrangements for the exercise, noting that Lagos will host 397 candidates, Owerri 136, and Abuja 66.
According to Hobnob News, Oloyede revealed that out of the 41,027 underage candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), only a small fraction met the initial qualification benchmarks. He stressed that the exercise is aimed at identifying candidates who are not only academically gifted but also mature enough for higher education.
“People have been doing it in other parts of the world. We are not reinventing the wheel,” Oloyede said.
Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, a member of the screening subcommittee, disclosed that the process will include subject-specific tests, a brief oral interview, and WAEC result verification for shortlisted candidates.
JAMB stated that only candidates who score a minimum of 320 in UTME, 80 per cent in post-UTME, and at least 80 per cent (24 out of 30 points) in a single WAEC or NECO sitting will be considered.
The initiative, the board explained, seeks to balance academic excellence with cognitive maturity, discourage age falsification, and protect children from undue parental pressure.
This move follows concerns raised over the 599 candidates who scored above 300 in the 2025 UTME but fell short of the official minimum admission age of 16 — a situation that prompted the formation of the special screening committee.
According to JAMB, the policy is in line with the Ministry of Education’s age requirement guidelines and aims to ensure that admitted candidates are mentally and psychologically prepared for the rigours of tertiary education.
