The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, or JAMB, has authorized the admission of 85 minor candidates who will be under 16 years old by September 2025, following a rigorous and exhaustive screening process under its unusual admission policy.
According to the Board, in a statement issued by its Public Communication Adviser, Fabian Benjamin, the 85 candidates were qualified after a thorough evaluation and have been notified to proceed to their respective institutions to complete their admission process and print their individual JAMB admission letters.
JAMB explained that the extraordinary admission criteria are consistent with global best practices, which consider underage situations as uncommon exceptions rather than the norm.
In the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), 2,031,133 individuals applied for admission, including 41,027 seeking consideration under the special underage category. Of these, 599 candidates received at least 80% in the UTME and were subjected to additional examination, which included verification of their school certificates and post-UTME performance.
Following this round, 182 individuals (178 plus 4) were shortlisted for the final round of interviews and documentation. At the end of the procedure, 85 individuals were determined to have met all of the qualifying requirements and were therefore cleared for admission.
JAMB also asked any of the 182 finalists who, for justifiable reasons, missed the final interview to lodge a formal request via the JAMB Support Ticketing System under the category “2025 Underage Complaint.”
The Board stated that such complaints would be considered individually and handled solely on merit.
Additionally, candidates who scored 320 or higher in the UTME but were rejected for failing to upload their O-Level results have been given a two-day grace period, ending Wednesday, October 29, 2025, to finish the upload and contact the Board via the same ticketing system.
JAMB reaffirmed its commitment to fairness and academic integrity, stating that its admissions process will remain credible, transparent, and inclusive while preserving Nigeria’s tertiary education standards.
