Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that exceptionally brilliant under-16 candidates who wish to gain admission into tertiary institutions must score a minimum of 320 in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), alongside other stringent conditions.
The announcement came just as JAMB, also yesterday, inaugurated a 24-man committee headed by the board’s Registrar,, for the screening of the 599 underage, gifted children, who scored over 320 in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for admission into various universities across the country.
Other standards announced for the exceptionally brilliant under-16 candidates are scoring not less than 80 per cent in the post-UTME, not less than 80 per cent in Senior School Certificate Examination and passing an interview.
Oloyede, who rolled out the measures during a virtual meeting with vice chancellors and heads of admissions yesterday in Abuja, said the Board would no longer tolerate the “academic abuse” of pushing psychologically and emotionally unprepared children into the rigours of university life.
Oloyede disclosed that out of the over 38,000 underage candidates who applied for admission, only 599 scored 320 and above in UTME, justifying the need for tighter measures.
The move follows a government policy, which pegged the official minimum age for admission into tertiary institutions at 16 years, with exceptions for high-performing candidates under 16.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, who presented the policy at the 2025 policy meeting of JAMB, said it aimed to balance cognitive maturity and academic preparedness and curb the growing trend of underage candidates in Nigerian universities.
While reaffirming 16 years as the minimum entry age for tertiary education, Oloyede said underage candidates would only be considered on clearly proven grounds of exceptional academic brilliance.
He maintained that to qualify for consideration, under-16 candidates must meet three academic criteria, namely: a minimum UTME score of 320 out of 400 (80 per cent), a post-UTME score of at least 80 per cent, and a minimum of 80 per cent in a single sitting of WAEC or NECO, amounting to 24 points out of 30.
Oloyede also outlawed the combination of results from two different examination bodies, such as mixing WAEC and NECO results for such a category of candidates, adding that science students must include mathematics in their top subjects, while arts students must include English.
He urged relevant institutions to assess all under-16 candidates through a dedicated post-UTME, even if the school has suspended such a process for the general admission population.
It will test the candidates’ brilliance to determine reasons they should be offered admission before the minimum requirement age of 16 years by September 30.
MEANWHILE, Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; University of Jos and Osun State University do not admit underage students.