•JAMB registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede
The special technical committee set up by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to screen underaged candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions for the 2025/2026 academic year is expected to commence the exercise between 22nd -26th September, 2025.
The information was revealed at a virtual meeting held by the Committee members today.
At the meeting, it was resolved that the screening exercise be conducted in three locations, Lagos – 397 candidates, Owerri – 136 and Abuja – 66 candidates respectively, reports Daily Independent.
Recall that out of the over 1,955 million candidates who sat for the 2025/2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) across the country about 599 candidates were found to have scored above 300, but fell below the age bracket of 16, a development that prompted the constitution of the screening committee.
The policy aligns with the Ministry of Education, which has already pegged the minimum admission age into tertiary institutions at 16.
The concept is to ensure that students who end up gaining admission into tertiary institutions are mentally and psychologically ready for the rigors of education.
Chairman of the panel and Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq’ Oloyede who presided over the virtual meeting at its headquarters, Bwari, in Abuja, noted 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 the screening exercise.
The meeting also resolved to contact the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to furnish the Committee with result details of the successful candidates, in order to streamline those eligible to appear before the panelists on the scheduled dates.
Already JAMB has taken steps to expunge all under-16 candidates from its Central Admissions Processing System, CAPS.
Four universities, namely the Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; University of Jos; and Osun State University have written to JAMB, informing the Board that they have no intention of admitting underaged candidates under any circumstances.
Aside ensuring the need for balancing cognitive maturity with academic excellence to protect the long-term well-being of young candidates, JAMB believes the policy will help in curbing age falsification and parental pressure.
JAMB and other stakeholders in the education sector have observed a trend of parents falsifying ages or pushing children to advance prematurely through the education system for social validation.
The regulatory body is equally aiming to use it to uphold academic standards, such that only exceptionally brilliant 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) are targeted, in order not to shut them out from gaining admission.
