THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced plans for a full enforcement of the minimum entry age requirement into tertiary institutions in Nigeria following recent approval of the 16-year age limit by the National Council on Education (NCE).
Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, briefing newsmen on the outcome of the Extraordinary National Council on Education (NCE) held last week in Abuja, revealed that the council approved a 16-year-old minimum admission policy into tertiary institutions.
He also disclosed that JAMB had been mandated to enforce the new admission policy with power to grant exceptions to candidates who must be examined by the board and pass the test excellently.
He explained that the incorporation of the 16-year minimum admission age policy for tertiary institutions into the NCE framework was necessary to standardise entry requirements for tertiary education.
While stating that there would be no going back on enforcement of the policy, JAMB, however, explained that in approving the policy, the NCE, made a proviso that exceptional candidates might enjoy waivers even if they are below 16 years provided they score 80 per cent in the four examinations they would have gone through.
JAMB registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, speaking at a meeting with critical stakeholders, made it clear that the gifted children must prove themselves beyond reasonable doubt that they are actually exceptional.
In attendance at the stakeholders’ meeting were the Chief External Examiners (CEEs), Chief Technical Advisors (CTAs) and Equal Opportunity Group (EOG). Others included Virtues Vanguard, Peace Monitors, High-Power Opinion Leaders, Civil Society and Mass Media, General Monitors, Roving Group and the Bwari Call Centre.
According to the board, the meeting with the stakeholders was to prepare for the 2025 UTME registration exercise, review past performances and discuss issues regarding the upcoming 2025 UTME.
Oloyede pointed out that the national minimum admissible age is 16, as such, any candidates below 16 years by September, 2025, would not be considered for admission.
“This is about complying with the law; age has a lot to do with maturity; in terms of what you do in life, age can’t be discarded.
“Biological age has a lot to do with the development of intelligence. So many things have been said, but there are exceptions to the rule, and you must allow for such exceptions.
“The Honourable Minister of Education stated clearly when he assumed office that the minimum age for admission would be 16, but we are also aware that there are gifted children and they are few in number. These gifted children can’t be dismissed like that. We will have to identify them and allow them to take the examination.
“Now, the question is about identifying them. There are so many criteria to be considered; however, if you are below 16 and you’re exceptional.
“First, your records must show that you’re exceptional. If you take the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, for instance, and you score 200 out of 400, how do you call yourself an exceptional candidate, but if you score 80 percent of the mark, that has automatically given us a signal that, “Oh, this person is really exceptional.”
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He said that any exceptional candidate must indeed be outstanding not through mere words but in all ramifications such that either in the UTME, WAEC, Post-UTME, or the GCE O/level, he must score at least 80 percent.
The registrar also lamented that private universities encourage underage admission and, in most cases, 80 percent of their intakes end up being migrated to other programmes owing to poor performance.
He further noted that the board is not unaware of these sharp practices that parents perpetrate to alter the age of their wards for the purpose of admission and on graduation, they apply for a reduction of that same age to enable their wards undergo the one-year mandatory service of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Meanwhile, JAMB has warned Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres against engaging in any form of extortionate practices in the ongoing 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) registration exercise.
The board also restated its commitment to cashless registration, saying stiffer sanctions await centres that flout this policy, which was introduced to curb unwholesome practices.
In order to effectively track down violators, the board had activated varied surveillance mechanisms to protect innocent candidates.
The board said with the adoption of the cashless system, it would be collecting the approved registration fee on behalf of the various centres along with its UTME registration fees and pay them their money on a weekly basis.
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