The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has cleared 85 underage candidates for admission after a special screening exercise conducted for exceptionally brilliant candidates who scored high marks in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The board announced the release of the results on Monday in a statement issued by its Public Communication Advisor, Dr Fabian Benjamin.
The special screening, held on 8 October, was designed to ensure that only outstanding and well-prepared candidates below the age of 16 are considered for tertiary admission in the 2025/2026 academic session.
According to the statement, the screening panel comprised representatives from the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC), Vice-Chancellors, and the Gifted School, among others.
“After meticulous evaluation, 85 candidates who were adjudged qualified have been duly notified to proceed to their respective institutions to complete the admission process and print their individual JAMB admission letters,” the statement read.
JAMB explained that the policy on exceptional admission aligns with global best practices, where such cases are treated as rare exceptions rather than the norm.
The board disclosed that out of the 2,031,133 applicants who sat for the 2025 UTME, 41,027 sought consideration under the special category for underage candidates. Of these, 599 scored above the 80 per cent threshold and were subjected to further scrutiny, including school certificate and Post-UTME screening. After interviews and verification, 85 candidates met all the criteria and were cleared for admission.
JAMB also advised 182 finalists who missed the final interview to submit a formal request through its Support Ticketing System under the category “2025 Underage Complaint”. Each case, it said, would be reviewed on its merit.
In addition, candidates who scored 320 and above in the UTME but were previously disqualified for failing to upload their O-Level results have been given two days—until Wednesday, 29 October—to do so and notify the Board through the same support system.
JAMB reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that the nation’s admission process remains credible, transparent, and inclusive, while maintaining the integrity of academic standards across all tiers of tertiary education.
Under Nigeria’s National Policy on Education, the official minimum age for university admission is 16.
