The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has approved the admission of 85 candidates who were below 16 years of age as of September 2025, following a meticulous evaluation process aligned with global best practices.
According to a statement signed by its Public Communication Adviser, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the decision was made after thorough verification and interviews confirmed that the selected candidates met the required criteria. They have now been cleared to proceed to their respective institutions and print their admission letters.
The Board explained that the approval followed a multi-stage assessment that began with 41,027 underage applicants out of the 2,031,133 candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Out of this number, 599 candidates scored above the 80 percent threshold and were further screened through certificate verification and review of their Post-UTME performance. From this group, 182 finalists emerged, and after another round of interviews and checks, 85 were confirmed fully qualified for admission.
JAMB clarified that the move does not represent a relaxation of standards but rather a recognition of exceptional intellectual maturity among a few candidates who demonstrated readiness for tertiary education ahead of the statutory age.
The Board also announced a special window for any of the 182 finalists who missed the final interview to submit a formal request through the JAMB Support Ticketing System under a new category titled “2025 Underage Complaint.” Each case, it added, would be treated strictly on its merit.
In a related development, JAMB has given candidates who scored 320 and above in the 2025 UTME but were disqualified for failing to upload their O-Level results a two-day grace period, ending Wednesday, October 29, 2025, to complete the upload and notify the Board through the same support channel.
Dr. Benjamin reaffirmed JAMB’s commitment to maintaining credibility, transparency, and fairness in the admission process while ensuring that academic integrity remains uncompromised.
He stated that the Board’s mandate is to ensure that every qualified candidate, regardless of age or background, is given a fair opportunity, while upholding the standards that protect the integrity of Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
