JAMB Approves 85 Underage Candidates for Exceptional Admission

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has cleared 85 underage candidates for exceptional admission into tertiary institutions, following a thorough multi-stage screening process.

In a statement on Monday, Dr Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s Head of Media, confirmed that all 85 candidates are under 16 years of age as of September 2025 and have successfully met the rigorous criteria set for such rare admissions.

“After careful evaluation, 85 candidates deemed qualified have been notified to proceed to their respective institutions to complete their admission process and print their individual JAMB admission letters. This exceptional admission policy aligns with global best practices, treating such cases as rare exceptions rather than the norm,” the statement read.

Out of 2,031,133 applicants for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), 41,027 applied under the special category. Of these, 599 scored the 80% UTME threshold and were subjected to further verification, including school certificates and PUTME screening, narrowing the pool to 182 candidates. After interviews and additional screening, 85 candidates were ultimately cleared for admission.

JAMB advised any of the 182 finalists who missed the final interview to submit a formal request through the JAMB Support Ticketing System under the category ‘2025 Underage Complaint’. Each case will be reviewed individually.

Additionally, candidates who scored 320 and above in UTME but failed to upload their O-Level results are now allowed to do so within two days (by Wednesday, 29th October 2025) and must notify the Board via the ticketing platform.

The Board reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, inclusiveness, and academic integrity across Nigerian tertiary education.

This move follows JAMB’s earlier directive that only candidates turning 16 by August 2025 would be eligible for admission, a policy that had sparked public controversy. Legal action by John Aikpokpo-Martins, former NBA Warri branch chairman, temporarily restrained the Board from enforcing the age policy, prompting the screening for exceptional underage candidates.