The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has reaffirmed its decision to retain 16 years as the minimum age for admission into tertiary institutions, insisting that the policy is grounded in existing education laws and supported by evidence showing that maturity contributes significantly to academic achievement.
JAMB’s Public Communication Adviser, Dr Fabian Benjamin, defended the policy on Thursday during a virtual dialogue organised by the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria (EWAN).
The session, titled “2026 Admission Policy Review and JAMB Scorecard: A Conversation with the Registrar,” focused on issues relating to admissions and the nation’s tertiary education system, including growing calls for a review of the minimum admission age.
Addressing the controversy, Benjamin said the age benchmark was not introduced arbitrarily but was established in line with the National Policy on Education, the Universal Basic Education framework and Nigeria’s 6-3-3-4 education system.
He said, “We didn’t just wake up one night and say it must be 16 years. If you go back and look at the National Council on Education decisions, the Universal Basic Education Commission Act and the National Policy on Education, you will see clearly defined age expectations for primary, secondary and university education.”
Benjamin explained that the board’s position was informed by years of evaluating admission exercises and tracking students’ academic performance in tertiary institutions.
“We operate a system whereby after every admission exercise, we go back to the drawing board and assess the entire process. We look at where the challenges are and come up with policies to address them.
“We have seen over and over again that age continues to play a major role. Beyond academics, education is a serious enterprise. Maturity plays a significant role in who you are, what you want to achieve and how you achieve it,” he added.
While maintaining the minimum age requirement, Benjamin said the policy also accommodates exceptionally gifted candidates who demonstrate outstanding academic ability.
“Yes, there are people with peculiar cognitive abilities. That is why there is an exception for gifted candidates. Such candidates must attain a particular threshold of performance before they can be considered for admission below the prescribed age,” he said.
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He added that the exemption was created to ensure highly talented children are not deprived of opportunities to progress academically.
“We do not want to exclude gifted children. If a candidate demonstrates that he or she belongs to that category, the person will be given the opportunity.
“Even in other countries, when you see a professor at a very young age, it is because the individual demonstrated exceptional ability.
But that does not mean every 12-year-old can simply gain admission into a university,” he said.
Benjamin also cited an instance where a university in London questioned the qualifications of a Nigerian applicant because of the individual’s age.
“We had a situation where a university in London wrote to us regarding a candidate seeking admission for a master’s degree at a particular age.
They were surprised and wanted us to explain the policy we were operating because they considered it impossible to have attained such qualifications at that age.
“We responded and explained the circumstances, and the university was shocked,” he said.
He stressed that JAMB would continue to enforce the minimum age policy while preserving provisions for exceptional candidates.
“If, in the future, any institution asks questions about a candidate admitted below the prescribed age, we can explain that the candidate demonstrated exceptional capacity and met the requirements set for gifted students,” Benjamin said.