The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has screened 176 exceptional underage candidates who scored high marks in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The screening exercise, which took place simultaneously in Abuja, Owerri, and Lagos on Wednesday, was conducted to identify outstanding and well-prepared candidates below the age of 16 for admission into tertiary institutions for the 2025/2026 academic session.
Chairman of the Abuja Centre, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, expressed satisfaction with the smooth conduct of the exercise.
Explaining the procedure, Adedoja said candidates first took a written examination, followed by face-to-face interviews.
“They did the first paper, which took about 20 minutes, and after that, the papers were marked before they proceeded to the second session, which was face-to-face interactions.
“Twenty-two candidates were screened here in Abuja, but nationwide, the figure is 176. The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, will determine when the results of the screening will be released,” he stated.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Mohammed Dandutse, commended JAMB for providing a platform for talented underage candidates to demonstrate their abilities.
“Now, they are giving leverage to the underage so that they can go to the universities based on their ability to pass these exams. It is very important for them to be assessed because of their maturity and focus. It is better that the exam is carried out so that the best talents can be selected, paving the way for national development,” Dandutse said.
He reaffirmed the National Assembly’s commitment to supporting President Bola Tinubu’s education policies and praised JAMB for its transparency and consistency.
Also speaking, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Examination Bodies, Hon. Oboku Oforji, lauded the students for their outstanding performance and the orderly conduct of the exercise.
Oforji, who monitored the screening in Abuja, said the exercise reflected Nigeria’s growing competitiveness in education across Africa and assured that the process would strictly follow JAMB’s guidelines.
According to the National Policy, the official age for university admission in Nigeria is 18 years, although candidates aged 16 and above are eligible for entry.
Out of 41,027 applicants under the category of exceptionally brilliant underage candidates for the 2025 UTME, only 599 scored 80 percent and above. Some were later disqualified for not meeting the same benchmark in their O-Level or Post-UTME results, leaving 176 confirmed for final assessment.
The screening panel included representatives from the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC), Vice-Chancellors, and the Gifted School, among others.