The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that it will commence the screening of 599 exceptionally brilliant but underage Candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions for the 2025/2026 academic session between September 22 and 26, 2025.
This was revealed during a virtual meeting held on Wednesday by the special technical committee set up by JAMB to review the eligibility of candidates who scored highly in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) but do not meet the minimum age requirement of 16.
According to resolutions from the meeting, the screening will take place at three designated centres
Lagos–397 candidates, Owerri–136 and Abuja–66 candidates respectively.
Out of more than 1.95 million candidates who sat for the 2025/2026 UTME, 599 underage Candidates were identified as having scored above 300, but fell below the age threshold for admission into tertiary institutions.
The Federal Ministry of Education has set 16 years as the minimum age for admission, in a policy aimed at ensuring students are mentally and psychologically prepared for the demands of higher education.
Presiding over the meeting, JAMB Registrar and Chairman of the Screening Committee, Prof Ishaq Oloyede disclosed that over 380,000 underage Candidates applied for admission this year. However, only those who scored 320 and above were shortlisted for further screening, underscoring the committee’s focus on exceptional academic talent.
The committee also resolved to liaise with the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to obtain the result details of the shortlisted candidates to validate their academic records and confirm their eligibility to appear before the panel.
In line with the national policy, JAMB has already taken steps to expunge all under 16 candidates from its Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS)
Furthermore, four universities have formally communicated to JAMB their firm policy against admitting underage candidates, regardless of academic performance. These institutions include:
Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi
University of Jos
Osun State University
JAMB explained that the initiative aims to balance cognitive maturity with academic brilliance, safeguard the long-term development of young candidates, and curb the growing trend of age falsification driven by parental pressure.
According to JAMB, the screening process is also designed to maintain academic standards. Only candidates with a minimum UTME score of 320 (80%), a post-UTME score of at least 80%, and an 80% score in a single sitting of WAEC or NECO (24/30 points) will be considered.
This approach, the Board noted, ensures that only truly exceptional students are accommodated, without compromising admission policies or shutting out genuine talent.
JAMB reiterated that this screening is not a policy reversal but a structured, merit based intervention to accommodate brilliance within regulatory frameworks.
