In a major policy shift, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has announced that candidates under the age of 16 can now be considered for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions—provided they achieve an exceptional score of at least 320 out of 400 (80%) in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination
This announcement follows the reversal of the controversial 18-year admission age benchmark introduced by former Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman.
The current Minister of Education, Olatunji Alausa, has reinstated the previous standard minimum age of 16, a decision that has received widespread support from education stakeholders.
Speaking at a recent meeting with key education stakeholders, including Chief External Examiners and members of the Equal Opportunity Group, JAMB Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede emphasized that while the 16-year benchmark remains in place, there must be room for truly gifted candidates to be assessed on merit.
“Biological age is linked to intellectual growth, and rules exist for a reason,” Oloyede said.
“However, we cannot ignore exceptionally talented children. If a candidate under 16 scores 320 or more in UTME and performs excellently in WASSCE, Post-UTME, and GCE O/Level, then such a student deserves consideration.”
Oloyede, however, raised concerns about private universities admitting underage candidates who later struggle academically, with as many as 80% of them eventually being transferred to less competitive programmes.
JAMB also condemned the growing trend of parents falsifying birth records to push their wards into early university admission, only to later attempt age adjustments to meet National Youth Service Corps requirements.
To address the issue, JAMB has introduced a mock UTME for underage candidates—not for admission purposes, but as a way for them to test their academic preparedness.
According to Oloyede, he said, “This will help parents and students make informed decisions before rushing into early admission.”
The 2025 UTME registration process begins on January 31 and runs until March 5, with the mock exam scheduled for February 23 and the main UTME on March 8.
