The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is set to enforce the minimum entry age requirement into tertiary institutions. This is, however, with a proviso that exceptional candidates may enjoy waivers even if they are below 16 years provided they score the 80% in the four examinations stated in our advertisement.
The Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, disclosed this at a meeting with critical stakeholders comprising Chief External Examiners (CEEs), Chief Technical Advisors (CTAs) and Equal Opportunity Group (EOG). Other stakeholders included Virtues Vanguard, Peace Monitors, High-Power Opinion Leaders, Civil Society and Mass Media, General Monitors, Roving Group and the Bwari Call Centre.
The meeting with the stakeholders is to prepare for the 2025 UTME registration exercise, review past performances and discuss issues regarding the upcoming 2025 UTME.
The Registrar pointed out that the national minimum admissible age is 16, as such, any candidates below 16 years by September, 2025, would not be considered for admission.
“This is about complying with the law, age has a lot to do with maturity in terms of what you do. Age can’t be discarded. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be prescribing that before you can become a Local Government Chairman, you must have attained a certain age or even a child of 5 or 10 years could aspire to that office.
“Biological age has a lot to do with the development of the intelligence. There are so many things that have been said, but there are exceptions to the rule, and you must allow for such exceptions.
“The Honourable Minister of Education mentioned it clearly when he assumed office that the minimum age for admission would be sixteen, but we are also aware that there are gifted children and they are few. These gifted children can’t be dismissed like that. We will have to identify them and allow them to take the exam.
“Now, the question is about identifying them. There are so many criteria we’ll look at if you’re under sixteen and you’re exceptional. First, your records should show that you’re exceptional. If you take UTME, for instance, and you score 200 out of 400, how do you call yourself an exceptional candidate, but if you score 80%, that is giving us a signal that, ‘Oh, this person is really exceptional.”
He said that any exceptional candidate must be exceptional not through mere words but in all ramifications such that either in the UTME, WAEC, Post-UTME, or the GCE O/level, he must score at least 80 percent.
The Registrar also lamented that private universities encourage underage admission and, in most cases, 80 percent of their intakes end up being migrated to other programmes owing to poor standing.
He further noted that the Board is not unaware of these sharp practices that parents perpetrate to alter the age of their wards for the purpose of admission and on graduation, they apply for a reduction of that same age to enable their wards undergo the one-year mandatory service of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
