The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has said it will enforce the 16 year age limit for admission into universities.
It however said exceptional candidates below 16 years may be considered for a waiver if they score 80% in four examination papers.
According to the Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, during a meeting with stakeholders in the education sector comprising Chief External Examiners (CEEs), Chief Technical Advisors (CTAs) and Equal Opportunity Group (EOG), among others ahead 2025 UTME registration exercise, said that any candidate below 16 years by September, 2025, would not be considered for admission.
“This is about complying with the law, the Honourable Minister of Education mentioned it clearly when he assumed office that the minimum age for admission would be 16 but we are also aware that there are gifted children and they are few. These gifted children can’t be dismissed like that. We will have to identify them and allow them to take the exam,” he said.
He expressed dissatisfaction over attitudes of some private universities that allow underage admission and later migrate such students to other programmes owing to poor standing as well as parents who reduce their children’s ages to enable them undergo the one-year mandatory service of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
