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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has screened 176 exceptional underage candidates who scored high marks in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME)—a move designed to ensure that only outstanding and well-prepared candidates below the age of 16 are considered for admission into tertiary institutions.
The screening exercise for the 2025/2026 academic session was conducted by experts put together by the exam body.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, the Chairman of the Abuja Centre for the screening of under-16 candidates, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, expressed satisfaction with the smooth conduct of the exercise, which was also held simultaneously in Owerri and Lagos.
On the screening procedure, Adedoja explained that candidates first sat for a written examination before proceeding to face-to-face interviews.
“They did the first paper, which took like 20 minutes, and after that the papers were marked and they proceeded to the second session, and after that the third one, and we will have a face-to-face interaction with them,” he said.
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The former Minister of Sports noted that 22 candidates participated in the Abuja centre, while 176 candidates took part nationwide.
“22 candidates are here in Abuja centre, and nationwide is 176,” he said, adding that the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, would determine when the results of the screening would be released.
Also speaking after monitoring the exercise, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Mohammed Muntari Dandutse, commended JAMB for providing a platform for talented underage candidates to demonstrate their abilities.
“Now they are giving leverage to the underage so that they can go to the universities based on their ability to pass these exams.”
Dandutse also reaffirmed the National Assembly’s commitment to supporting President Bola Tinubu’s education policies aimed at national development while commending JAMB for its consistency and transparency.
Also, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Examination Bodies, Hon. Oboku Oforji, who also monitored the exercise in Abuja, lauded the students for their outstanding performance, noting that it reflects Nigeria’s competitiveness in education across Africa.
Meanwhile, a total of 38 out of 43 shortlisted underage candidates participated in the screening exercise at the Owerri Centre.
Chairman of the Owerri Centre and Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Prof. Paulinus Okwelle, expressed satisfaction with the smooth conduct of the exercise.
He commended the candidates for their orderly behaviour and assured them that the screening process would strictly adhere to the guidelines provided by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
The under-16 candidates at the Owerri Centre were drawn from the South-South and South-East geopolitical zones.
A total of 41,027 candidates applied under the category of exceptionally brilliant underage candidates for the 2025 UTME, but only 599 scored 80 per cent and above.
Some were later disqualified for not meeting the same benchmark in their O-Level or Post-UTME results, leaving only 176 confirmed for final assessment.
The screening panel comprised representatives from the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC), vice chancellors, the Gifted School, among others.