The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) has introduced a special registration option for exceptionally brilliant students under 16 who wish to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, explained that while the board enforces a minimum entry age of 16 for tertiary institutions, an exception has been made for students with outstanding academic abilities.
Speaking on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television, Oloyede said, “We are enforcing the 16-year minimum entry into tertiary institutions, but some people are saying there are exceptional students. Yes, there are exceptional students, but they are just one in a million.”
He emphasized that such candidates must register under the Exceptionally Brilliant Window, which allows gifted students under 16 to take the UTME. “We are saying 16 years is the minimum, but if you know you are exceptional, register for exceptional candidacy—that is, you are less than 16 years old and exceptional,” he added.
ALSO READ
However, Oloyede expressed concern over the rising cases of parents manipulating their children’s ages to accelerate their admission process. He revealed that in just a few days, more than 2,000 candidates below 16 had already registered, some as young as 10. “Normal children cannot grow at a rate higher than their biological age. What parents are now doing is increasing the age of their children… affidavit of age and everything. The parents want to use the children to decorate their CVs. They want to say, ‘I am the mother of a lawyer; my child graduated at age 13,’” he lamented.
The issue of age requirements for university admission has been a topic of policy changes. In July 2024, former Education Minister Prof. Tahir Mamman had set the minimum admission age at 18. However, in November 2024, his successor, Dr. Tunji Alausa, reversed the decision, lowering the benchmark to 16 while allowing exceptions for gifted students. “We will not be going forward with the 18-year admission benchmark. We will go with 16 years… There will also be exceptions for gifted students,” Alausa stated.
JAMB has also issued warnings to parents and Computer-Based Test (CBT) centers against unethical practices, including nighttime registration, which it flagged as a security risk.
