By More than 41,000 candidates under the age of 16 have registered for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), despite the age limit set for entry into Nigerian universities. According to data from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the total number of registered candidates this year stands at over 2.03 million.
Real-time information from JAMB’s registration dashboard showed that 41,027 of those candidates are below the required age. This comes amid renewed efforts by the Federal Government to enforce the minimum age policy for university admissions.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has again emphasized that the minimum age for admission into any tertiary institution in Nigeria remains 16. “Candidates below this age would not be eligible for admission, although exceptions would be made for academically gifted students,” Alausa clarified.
JAMB supported the minister’s position and issued further guidelines, stating that only those underage candidates who score at least 80 percent—equivalent to 320 out of 400—on the UTME might be considered for admission. The board said the aim is to maintain quality standards while giving room for rare talents.
This clarification follows the government’s decision to reverse a previous policy introduced by former Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, which had raised the benchmark age to 18. The return to the 16-year minimum age requirement has been met with approval from many education stakeholders.
Parents and schools are now being urged to take the policy seriously when preparing students for the UTME. As authorities tighten enforcement, it remains to be seen how many underage students will actually qualify under the gifted exemption rule.
