JAMB Sets 80% Exam Score Requirement for Candidates Under 16 for Admission
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that exceptional candidates under 16 who score 80% on four required exams will be eligible for Admission to study.
This strategy was revealed by JAMB’s Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, at a meeting with important stakeholders assembled to assess previous performance, plan for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) registration exercise, and address exam-related concerns.
The national minimum eligible age is still 16, Oloyede stressed throughout the discussion, and any applicant under this age as of September 2025 will not be considered for admission.
The Registrar agreed that although 16 is the normal minimum age, gifted teens shouldn’t be disregarded. He described the standards by which such applicants would be found.
The issue now is how to identify them. If you’re exceptional and under sixteen, we’ll consider a lot of factors. First of all, your records ought to demonstrate your exceptionality.
For example, if you get a score of 200 out of 400 on the UTME, how can you consider yourself an extraordinary candidate? However, he stated, “If you receive an 80%, that indicates to us that this individual is truly exceptional.”
“They must be exceptional—not just in words, but in all aspects—so that he receives at least 80% on the UTME, WAEC, Post-UTME, or GCE O/level,” he continued.
Private Schools Set Age and Exam Score Limits for Underage Admissions
Concerning the trend of private institutions accepting minors, the Registrar pointed out that many of these students have academic difficulties and are subsequently transferred to other programs, due to poor standing, 80 percent of their intakes end up being migrated to other programs,” he stated.
Oloyede also took issue with parents who change their kids’ ages for entrance and then change them again for the mandated National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program.
“The Board is aware of the cruel practices parents engage in to change their children’s age for admission, and in order to allow them to serve the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for a year after graduation, they apply to have that age reduced.”
JAMB Explains Rationale Behind Age Requirement
Oloyede supported the strategy, emphasizing that legal requirements and maturity are tied to age. He maintained that age must be taken into account for school admissions in order to guarantee preparedness, just as leadership positions have age restrictions.
Age has a big impact on maturity in terms of what you do, and this is about following the law. One cannot disregard age. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be dictating that attaining a specific age is a prerequisite for being a Local Government Chairman, or even that a youngster as young as five or ten years old could want to hold that position.
Oloyede emphasized that any exceptional candidate must perform very well on a number of tests. Since the UTME has a 400-mark total score, 80% means a minimum score of 320.
