Amid controversies over the Federal Government policy on tertiary education, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has authorized higher institutions of learning to admit candidates who will be 16 years old by August 31, 2025.
The 2024 Policy Meeting discussed the minimum age for admission into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions and decided that it would be 16 years for the 2024/25 academic session.
Muhammad Babaji, the director of JAMB, declared in a press release on Thursday that the institution should not deny admission by August 2025 to candidates who meet its admission standards only because of their age.
“The Board acknowledges that some institutions expect the 2024/2025 admission process to extend into July 2025.
“Without compromising standards or infringing on individual institutions’ admission policies, the Board has decided to allow any willing institution to admit candidates who will be 16 years old by August 31, 2025.
“This is without prejudice to any institution that has set its own minimum age requirement of 16 years, which remains unchanged,” he said.
The statement also requested institutions to gather information from their Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) and submit a list of eligible candidates who will turn 16 between January 1 and August 31, 2025, within a week of the announcement.
He noted that this effort aims to ensure fairness, as those whose 2024 admissions extend until August 2025 should not be unduly favoured.
JAMB reiterated that any institution that insists on maintaining a minimum age of 16 years as of 2024 is free to do so.
