Nigeria’s Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that 85 underage students have been granted approval to proceed with university admission after meeting the requirements for exceptional admission.
The announcement was made in Abuja on Monday by Dr Fabian Benjamin, spokesperson for the board, who stated that the successful candidates had completed an intensive evaluation process. Each of the approved candidates is younger than 16 years of age as of September 2025.
According to JAMB, the exceptional admission policy is rarely applied and mirrors international education practices, where only outstanding cases are considered. Out of more than 2 million candidates who sat the 2025 UTME, 41,027 applied under this special category. Of these, 599 candidates scored 80 per cent or higher.
Further scrutiny, including the assessment of academic credentials and post-UTME screening, reduced the number to 182 finalists. Following interviews and verification, 85 candidates were deemed fully qualified for admission and were notified accordingly.
JAMB urged any of the 182 finalists who missed the interview for genuine reasons to lodge a formal request via its Support Ticketing System under the “2025 Underage Complaint” section. Each case, Benjamin said, will be evaluated individually.
He also announced a new opportunity for candidates who scored 320 and above in the UTME but were barred from admission for failing to upload their O-Level results. These candidates must upload the missing documents and inform the board no later than Wednesday, 29 October 2025.
The board reiterated its commitment to fairness, transparency, and academic excellence in Nigeria’s tertiary education admissions.
