JAMB Clears 85 of 41,027 Underage Geniuses for Exceptional Admission
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Monday announced that it has granted exceptional admission clearance to 85 underage candidates out of a total of 41,027 applicants who sought special consideration for admission into tertiary institutions.
In a statement issued by its Head of Media and Public Relations, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, JAMB explained that the clearance followed a rigorous multi-stage screening and verification process which confirmed that the 85 candidates met all necessary academic and institutional requirements, despite being below the official age threshold.
According to the statement, all the cleared candidates were below 16 years of age as of September 2025, but were found to possess the intellectual and emotional maturity required to thrive in tertiary institutions.
“After meticulous evaluation, 85 candidates adjudged to be qualified have been duly notified to proceed to their respective institutions to complete the admission process and print their individual JAMB admission letters.
This policy of exceptional admission aligns with global best practices, where such cases are treated as rare exceptions rather than the norm,” the statement read.
JAMB disclosed that of the 2,031,133 candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), 41,027 applied to be considered under the special category for underage admission.
Out of these, 599 candidates attained the 80% performance threshold in the UTME. Following further scrutiny— including a review of school certificates and Post-UTME results— 182 candidates (178 + 4) advanced to the final evaluation stage.
After interviews, verification, and additional screening, 85 candidates were found to have fully met the established criteria and were subsequently cleared for admission.
The Board also advised candidates among the 182 finalists who missed the final interview stage to submit a formal request through JAMB’s official support system for review.
“Such complaints will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and decisions will be made strictly on their merits. This appeal window applies exclusively to the 182 finalists who, for one reason or another, missed the final interview,” the Board stated.
Additionally, JAMB announced a short window for candidates who scored 320 and above in the UTME but were previously disqualified for failing to upload their O’Level results. Such candidates have been given two days not later than Wednesday, October 29, 2025—to upload the required results and notify the Board via its ticketing platform.
Reaffirming its commitment to transparency, inclusiveness, and academic integrity, JAMB emphasized that the exceptional admission exercise demonstrates its flexibility in accommodating genuine cases while upholding standards across Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
JAMB had reiterated that only candidates who would be 16 years old by August 2025 would be eligible for admission into tertiary institutions.
The directive followed a new policy introduced by the Federal Ministry of Education, which raised the minimum admission age to 18 years.
The policy generated widespread criticism, leading to a lawsuit filed by John Aikpokpo-Martins, former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Warri branch. The court subsequently restrained JAMB from enforcing the age-limit directive.
Following the ruling, JAMB established a special screening process to evaluate underage candidates for exceptional admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions.
