The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Wednesday said it will begin screening for over 500 exceptional candidates below 16 years of age seeking admission into tertiary institutions for the 2025/2026 academic session between September 22 and 26.

The exercise will be conducted by a special technical committee set up by JAMB, according to resolutions reached during a virtual meeting of members on Wednesday.

Speaking during the meeting, Registrar of JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede, said three venues have been selected for the screening: Lagos, Abuja, and Owerri.

He said Lagos will host 397 candidates, Owerri 136, and Abuja 66.

Oloyede, who noted that out of 41,027 underage candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), more than 40,000 did not scale the first hurdle,  explained that the screening is to ensure that only exceptional and well-prepared underage candidates gain admission.

“People have been doing it in other parts of the world. We are not reinventing the wheel,” he said.

During the meeting, a subcommittee led by Prof. Taoheed Adedoja presented its report on the planned assessment, stating that candidates will face subject-specific tests followed by a brief oral interview.

The committee also resolved to request the result details from the West African Examination Council to verify the eligibility of some shortlisted candidates before they appear for interviews.

Participants in the virtual meeting included heads of tertiary institutions, government agencies, civil society representatives, members of the Nigerian Academy of Education, and the principal of Federal Government Gifted Academy, Suleja.

Recall that out of the 1.955 million candidates who sat for this year’s UTME nationwide, 599 scored above 300 but fell below the minimum admission age of 16, prompting the creation of the screening committee.

The policy aligns with the Ministry of Education’s directive setting 16 as the minimum entry age for tertiary institutions.

The initiative is designed to ensure that candidates admitted are mentally and psychologically prepared for the demands of higher education.

Four universities,  the Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; University of Jos; and Osun State University, have already informed JAMB that they will not admit underage candidates under any circumstances.

JAMB says the policy will balance academic excellence with cognitive maturity, prevent age falsification, and protect young candidates from undue parental pressure.

The Board is targeting only candidates who score at least 320 in UTME (80%), achieve a minimum of 80% in post-UTME, and secure at least 80% (24/30 points) in a single WAEC or NECO sitting. (Punch)