JAMB Approves Admission For 85 Underage Candidates

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that 85 underage candidates have successfully completed its special screening process for exceptional admission into tertiary institutions across Nigeria.

In a statement issued on Monday by its Head of Media, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, JAMB revealed that the candidates, all younger than 16 years as of September 2025, were approved after passing a meticulous, multi-stage evaluation exercise.

“After meticulous evaluation, 85 candidates who are adjudged to be qualified have been duly notified to proceed to their respective institutions to complete the admission process and print their individual JAMB admission letters.
“This policy of exceptional admission is consistent with global best practices, where such cases are treated as rare exceptions rather than the norm,” the statement read.

The Board disclosed that out of 2,031,133 applicants who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), a total of 41,027 requested special consideration under this category. Of these, 599 scored at least 80 percent in the exam and were subjected to further review of their school certificates and post-UTME results, leading to 182 finalists.

“After due verification, interviews, and screening, 85 candidates were found to have met the criteria and have consequently been cleared for admission,” JAMB added.

The Board advised any finalist who missed the last interview to submit a formal request via the JAMB Support Ticketing System under the category ‘2025 Underage Complaint.’
“Such complaints will be reviewed individually, and decisions will be made strictly on their own merits,” it stated.

It further noted that “candidates who scored 320 and above in UTME but failed to upload O-Level results and were subsequently disqualified from proceeding are now given a chance to upload within two days (not later than Wednesday, 29th October, 2025) and notify the Board through the ticketing platform.”

JAMB reiterated its commitment to transparency, fairness, and academic integrity in Nigeria’s tertiary admission process.

This development follows a recent controversy surrounding the minimum admission age. JAMB had earlier announced that only candidates who would be 16 years old by August 2025 would be eligible for admission — a directive that drew public criticism and led to a legal challenge by former Nigerian Bar Association chairman, John Aikpokpo-Martins. Following a court order, JAMB introduced this special screening process to consider exceptional underage candidates.