The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that exceptional candidates under the age of 16 may be granted waivers if they achieve an 80% score in four prescribed examinations.

JAMB’s Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, disclosed this policy during a stakeholders' meeting convened to prepare for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) registration exercise, review past performances, and address concerns about the upcoming exam.

Oloyede reiterated that the national minimum admissible age remains 16, meaning that candidates below this age as of September 2025 will not be considered for admission. However, he acknowledged that while the general requirement stands, exceptionally gifted children should not be disregarded.

“Now, the question is about identifying them. There are many criteria we’ll examine if you’re under sixteen and exceptional. First, your records should reflect your exceptional status. If you take UTME and score 200 out of 400, how do you call yourself an exceptional candidate? But if you score 80%, that signals to us that you truly stand out,” he said.

“They must be exceptional not just in words but in all aspects, including UTME, WAEC, Post-UTME, or GCE O/Level, where they must score at least 80%,” he added.

JAMB’s Justification for the Age Requirement

Defending the policy, Oloyede emphasized that age is tied to maturity and legal requirements, arguing that just as leadership roles have age limits, educational admissions must also consider age to ensure readiness.

“This is about complying with the law. Age has a significant role in maturity and readiness. If age were irrelevant, there wouldn’t be legal requirements stating that one must attain a certain age before becoming a Local Government Chairman. Otherwise, even a five or ten-year-old could aspire to such a position.

“Biological age greatly influences intellectual development. While there are exceptions to every rule, they must be carefully justified,” he stated.

Oloyede stressed that any exceptional candidate must demonstrate outstanding performance across multiple assessments. Given that the UTME has a total score of 400, an 80% benchmark means candidates must score at least 320.

Concerns Over Underage Admissions in Private Universities

The Registrar also raised concerns over private universities admitting underage candidates, noting that many struggle academically and eventually transfer to other programs.

“In most cases, 80% of these students end up being reassigned to different programs due to poor academic performance,” he said.

Additionally, he criticized the widespread practice of parents altering their children’s ages for admission purposes and later adjusting them again for the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program.

“The Board is aware of these manipulative practices, where parents alter their children’s ages for admission and then later apply for a reduction of that same age to enable them to undergo the one-year mandatory NYSC service,” he concluded.