The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has announced next month as the commencement of screening for over 500 exceptional candidates below 16 years of age for the 2025/2026 admission into tertiary institutions. The exercise will be conducted by a special technical committee set up by the Board in three selected cities, Lagos, Abuja and Owerri. According to the Registrar of JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede who made this known during a virtual meeting of members, explained that Lagos would host 397 candidates, Owerri 136, and Abuja 66. He noted that out of 41,027 underage candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), more than 40,000 did not scale the first hurdle. Professor Oloyede explained that the screening is to ensure that only exceptional and well-prepared underage candidates gain admission. “People have been doing it in other parts of the world. We are not reinventing the wheel,” he said. During the meeting, a subcommittee led by Professor Taoheed Adedoja presented its report on the planned assessment, stating that candidates would face subject-specific tests followed by a brief oral interview. The committee also resolved to request result details from the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to verify the eligibility of some shortlisted candidates before they appear for interviews. Participants in the virtual meeting included heads of tertiary institutions, government agencies, civil society representatives, members of the Nigerian Academy of Education, and the principal of Federal Government Gifted Academy, Suleja. Our Correspondent reports that out of the 1.955 million candidates who sat for this year’s UTME nationwide, 599 scored above 300 but fell below the minimum admission age of 16, prompting the creation of the screening committee. The Board is targeting only candidates who score at least 320 in UTME (80%), achieve a minimum of 80% in post-UTME, and secure at least 80% (24/30 points) in a single WAEC or NECO sitting. Post navigation UNIOSUN Recruits More Lecturers, Matriculates over 400 New Students OAU medical student gives self death injection after failing exam twice
