The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has inaugurated a special committee tasked with overseeing the admission process for underage candidates who demonstrated exceptional academic performance in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The committee, which was officially launched on Wednesday, is expected to establish guidelines and determine the eligibility criteria for admitting these exceptionally gifted candidates into tertiary institutions. JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, made this known during a media briefing on the sidelines of the committee’s inaugural meeting held in Bwari, Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to Prof. Oloyede, the initiative primarily focuses on 599 underage candidates who scored 320 and above in the 2025 UTME. He emphasized that these candidates, although below the official minimum age of 16 for admission, have shown outstanding intellectual potential that warrants special consideration.
“The committee has been tasked with developing modalities for assessing these candidates and recommending those deemed exceptionally brilliant. The goal is to encourage and support raw academic talent without compromising standards,” Oloyede stated.
The registrar revealed that the committee comprises Vice Chancellors of Nigerian universities, representatives from regulatory agencies, critical stakeholders in the education sector, and seasoned education experts. Many of them participated virtually in the inaugural meeting.
Outlining the roadmap, Oloyede disclosed that the committee would work between now and September to identify candidates who meet the required standards. These selected candidates will be publicly announced once the selection process is complete.
“The process will involve a comprehensive evaluation of their academic records, including their school certificates, which must reflect at least an 80 percent average. Additionally, institutions are expected to submit the candidates’ post-UTME scores no later than September 16,” he explained.
He emphasized that any candidate who fails to achieve a minimum score of 80 in the post-UTME would automatically be disqualified from the selection process, regardless of their UTME performance.
To facilitate this assessment process, the panel will convene in three major cities—Lagos, Abuja, and Owerri. The decision to hold sessions across different regions, Oloyede said, is to ensure inclusivity and broaden stakeholder engagement.
However, Prof. Oloyede also used the opportunity to caution parents against the growing trend of pushing their children into tertiary institutions at very young ages. He stressed that children should be allowed to mature emotionally, psychologically, and intellectually before taking on the rigours of higher education.
“Parents should understand that pushing children prematurely into the university system is not in their best interest. They need time to grow, learn, and develop at a natural pace,” he advised.
He also warned against the temptation to influence the selection process through bribery or corruption, insisting that any attempt to compromise the system would be met with strong resistance. “Introducing children to criminal behaviour through admission racketeering is a dangerous precedent. It must be stopped,” he warned.
Reiterating JAMB’s commitment to transparency and fairness, the registrar assured the public that the entire selection process would be conducted with the utmost integrity, owing to the high calibre of individuals on the committee.