Candidates below the age of 16 seeking admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions will have to satisfy significantly higher academic requirements than other applicants under the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s exceptional-candidate policy.
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JAMB has clarified that although 16 remains the general minimum age for admission into tertiary institutions, academically exceptional candidates below the threshold may still be considered if they satisfy stringent performance requirements.
For the 2026 admission exercise, the age rule applies to candidates who will not have attained 16 years by September 30, 2026.
Such candidates are classified as underage and are not ordinarily eligible for admission unless they qualify under the exceptional-candidate provision.
Under the arrangement, an underage UTME candidate must score at least 80 per cent in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, equivalent to a minimum score of 320 out of 400.
Clearing the UTME threshold is, however, only the first stage.
The candidate must also attain at least 80 per cent in the Post-UTME or other screening conducted by the institution of choice, satisfy the prescribed 80 per cent requirement in the Senior School Certificate Examination and also record at least 80 per cent in the special assessment designed for exceptional underage candidates.
JAMB said the demanding criteria were introduced to ensure that the age waiver applies only to candidates who demonstrate genuinely exceptional academic ability.
The Board had earlier withheld the UTME results of underage candidates pending completion of the first stage of the evaluation process.
Only candidates who crossed the 320-point UTME threshold were subsequently shortlisted to proceed to the next stage of assessment.
JAMB had informed qualifying candidates that crossing the 80 per cent UTME threshold represented only one of the categories that must be satisfied before they could be considered for admission.
The Board stressed that an exceptional performance in the UTME alone does not entitle an underage candidate to admission.
Candidates must successfully pass all the prescribed stages before becoming eligible for consideration under the special provision.
Even after satisfying the requirements, admission is not automatic, as the candidate must still meet the admission conditions of his or her chosen institution and be processed through the Central Admissions Processing System, CAPS.
The Board’s position follows the Federal Government’s decision to maintain 16 years as the minimum age for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions.
At the 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions, stakeholders retained 16 as the minimum admissible age.
The meeting also approved minimum UTME admission scores of 150 for universities and colleges of nursing, and 100 for polytechnics, monotechnics, colleges of agriculture, colleges of education and Innovation Enterprise Institutions.
Those general minimum scores are, however, different from the requirements imposed on exceptional underage candidates.
While a candidate who satisfies the normal age requirement may be considered subject to the general minimum score and the individual institution’s admission standard, an applicant below 16 must first meet the much higher exceptional-candidate threshold.
For an underage UTME candidate, this means scoring at least 320, compared with the national minimum of 150 approved for universities in the 2026 admission exercise.
JAMB has maintained that the special arrangement is intended to strike a balance between enforcing the national admission-age policy and ensuring that genuinely gifted students are not prevented from progressing academically solely because of their age.
The Board has also emphasised that candidates who fall within the exceptional category will undergo intensive evaluation before any admission can be approved.
The policy therefore means that being below 16 does not impose an absolute bar on tertiary admission, but candidates seeking the age waiver must demonstrate exceptional performance throughout the admission process.
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