The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has issued new admission guidelines for underage candidates seeking entry into Nigerian universities, listing specific academic and screening conditions for applicants below the age of 16.
Speaking at a virtual meeting with Vice-Chancellors and Heads of Admissions, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, said only candidates who meet all criteria will be considered for admission under an exceptional waiver policy.
This follows the Federal Government’s reaffirmation of 16 years as the official minimum age for admission into tertiary institutions.
According to JAMB, to qualify for the screening, under-16 candidates must:
Score a minimum of 320 out of 400 in the UTME,
Achieve at least 80% in the post-UTME, and
Attain 80% in a single sitting of either WAEC or NECO, equivalent to 24 points out of 30.
Oloyede stated that the Board will no longer permit what he described as the “academic abuse” of admitting emotionally and psychologically unprepared children into universities.
He added that candidates who do not meet the outlined benchmarks will not be considered, regardless of their age.
The Board has also ruled out the combination of results from WAEC and NECO for this category of applicants.
Science candidates must present Mathematics among their core subjects, while Arts candidates must present English.
Out of over 38,000 underage applicants, only 599 candidates scored 320 or above in the UTME, making them eligible for possible screening.
JAMB has established a 23-member National Committee on Underage Admission, chaired by the Registrar, to oversee the screening process.
The screening will take place in Abuja, Lagos, and Owerri. A fourth layer of evaluation involving affective and psychomotor assessments has also been introduced.
Institutions will be required to conduct a special post-UTME for the under-16 applicants, even where the test has been suspended for the general admission population.
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Results of this special assessment must be submitted to JAMB by September 16, and any candidate scoring below 80% will be disqualified.
Meanwhile, four universities have informed JAMB that they will not accept underage candidates under any condition. These include:
Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi
University of Jos
Osun State University
JAMB has removed all underage candidates from its Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), and any institution intending to admit such candidates must seek approval or face sanctions.
The new measures aim to curb the growing trend of underage admissions and ensure that all entrants into the university system possess both the intellectual and emotional capacity to cope with academic demands.
Oloyede attributed the prevalence of underage applications to poor policy enforcement, elimination of Primary Six in some states, and parental pressure driven by social expectations.
He urged institutions to fully support the implementation of the new policy, stressing its long-term benefit to the education sector.