JAMB clears 85 underage candidates for exceptional admission

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has announced the successful completion by 85 underage candidates of its rigorous screening process for exceptional admission into tertiary institutions.

In a statement issued on Monday by its Head of Media, Dr Fabian Benjamin, JAMB said the 85 candidates, all younger than 16 years as of September 2025, were found qualified after a rigorous, multi-stage evaluation process.

“After meticulous evaluation, 85 candidates who are adjudged to be qualified have been duly notified to proceed to their respective institutions to complete the admission process and print their individual JAMB admission letters.

“This policy of exceptional admission is consistent with global best practices, where such cases are treated as rare exceptions rather than the norm,” the statement read.

JAMB explained that out of 2,031,133 applicants in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), 41,027 candidates sought to be considered under the special category.

“Under this special category, 599 scored the 80% threshold in the UTME.

“These 599 were subjected to further scrutiny of school certificate and PUTME screening, which led to the emergence of 182 candidates (178+4).

“After due verification, interviews, and screening, 85 candidates were found to have met the criteria and have consequently been cleared for admission,” the Board added.

JAMB also advised any of the final candidates who missed the final interview to submit a formal request through its support system.