The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has announced that exceptional students under the age of 16 can now register for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), following the introduction of an “Exceptionally Brilliant Window” for such candidates.
While JAMB maintains a minimum age requirement of 16 for entry into Nigerian tertiary institutions, Oloyede explained that this new initiative was created to accommodate highly exceptional students who are ready to advance earlier than their peers.
Speaking on the Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television, Oloyede, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, elaborated on the rationale behind the decision. “In Nigeria, there are many brilliant students. While the minimum age for university admission is 16, we recognize that there are some exceptional students who are ready to take the UTME before that age,” he said. “These exceptional students are rare—one in a million—but they exist.”
He emphasized that while the 16-year minimum is standard, students who meet the criteria for exceptional candidacy are now encouraged to register for the UTME, even if they are under the age of 16.
Oloyede also condemned the rising trend of parents manipulating their children’s ages in a bid to fast-track their educational progression. He highlighted cases where children as young as 10 to 12 had been registered for the UTME. “It’s alarming,” Oloyede said. “Just from Monday to today, over 2,000 students have been registered, many of them aged 10, 11, or 12, whose parents have used fraudulent means to alter their ages.”
The JAMB registrar stressed the biological limits of growth, stating, “Normal children cannot grow faster than their biological age. But parents are now using affidavits and other dishonest means to inflate their children’s ages, pushing them through academic levels faster than they should be.”
Oloyede lamented that some parents were more focused on showcasing their children’s achievements for personal gain, citing the example of parents wanting to claim their child graduated at age 13, simply to enhance their own social status.
In related developments, in November 2024, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced a reversal of the previous 18-year admission age policy for Nigerian tertiary institutions, restoring the 16-year benchmark. He also stated that exceptions would be made for exceptionally gifted students. “The 18-year benchmark is no longer part of our policy,” he said, confirming that JAMB would align with the new guidelines.
The former Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, had initially introduced a ban on admissions for candidates under 18 in July 2024, but this policy was revised in light of ongoing discussions around exceptional candidates.
