The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, has congratulated 108 Nigerian students under the age of 16 who met the requirements for university admission after a rigorous selection process.
Speaking at a recognition event in Abuja,Alausa urged the young scholars to deploy their intellectual abilities in developing innovative solutions to challenges facing Nigeria and the world.
He described them as exceptional talents whose abilities could contribute to national development and global innovation.
The minister also stressed the need to identify and nurture young Nigerians with outstanding academic potential, noting that the country’s youthful population presents significant opportunities for growth and development.
The students were selected from more than 2.17 million candidates who sat for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME.
Figures presented at the event showed that 39,000 candidates were below the age of 16, but only 391 scored above 80 per cent in the examination.
Further screening, which included post-UTME performance, Ordinary Level results and psychological readiness assessments, narrowed the number of successful candidates to 108.
End.
