The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, on Wednesday, set admission criteria for underage candidates in the last Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
In the 2025 UTME, 599 students scored 320 and above but were not qualified for admission due to age, as they are yet to reach the mandatory 16 years.
Inaugurating the committee to oversee the process of admissions for the underage candidates, the JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, said between now and September, those who would scale the hurdle from the 599 candidates would be announced.
Speaking at the sidelines of the inaugural meeting of the committee members in Bwari, Federal Capital Territory, Prof Oloyede said, “Their school certificates will be weighted, which means they must have scored 80 per cent, and for the post-UTME, the institution will submit the scores of the candidates, latest by September 16.
He added that any candidate who scored below 80 in the post-UTME was already out of it.
“We know that 16 years is the minimum for admissions, but we should be able to pick one or two that are very brilliant to encourage them,” he said.
Oloyede said that the committee would decide the modalities for determining “specially gifted candidates.”
He said, “These are the 599 underage candidates who scored 320 and above in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
“The committee will decide on the dates, what to do and who to pick at the end.
“They will pick candidates that are exceptionally brilliant to be admitted into tertiary schools, in a bid to encourage them.”
The JAMB registrar noted that the committee meeting had the virtual presence of vice-chancellors of Nigerian universities, regulatory agencies, some critical stakeholders and experts in education.
He added that the panel would sit in Lagos, Abuja and Owerri.
Oloyede urged parents to desist from desperation to send their children and wards at tender ages into tertiary institutions, saying that children needed time to develop naturally and mature.
He also cautioned against bribery to gain admission, saying that it was an anomaly to introduce the younger generation into the world of crime.
