The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has approved the admission of 85 underage candidates into various tertiary institutions across the country, following what it described as a rigorous and exceptional screening process.
In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by its Public Communication Adviser, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, JAMB said the decision followed a “meticulous evaluation” process in line with global best practices, where underage admissions are treated as rare exceptions rather than the norm.
“After thorough verification and interviews, 85 candidates who met the established criteria have been duly cleared to proceed to their respective institutions and print their JAMB admission letters,” Benjamin stated.
According to the Board, the approval came after a multi-stage assessment process that began with 41,027 underage applicants who sought exceptional admission consideration out of the 2,031,133 candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Out of the total applicants, 599 candidates scored above the 80 percent threshold and were subjected to further scrutiny, including verification of their school certificates and Post-UTME performance.
From this group, 182 finalists emerged, and after the final round of interviews and checks, 85 were adjudged fully qualified for exceptional admission.
JAMB clarified that the approval was not a relaxation of standards but a recognition of rare intellectual and academic maturity among a few candidates.
“This exceptional admission policy is not a relaxation of standards. Rather, it recognises extraordinary intellectual maturity among a few candidates who have demonstrated readiness for tertiary education ahead of the statutory age,” the statement added.
The Board further announced a special window for any of the 182 finalists who missed the final interview to submit a formal request through the JAMB Support Ticketing System under a new category titled “2025 Underage Complaint.”
It said that each case would be treated strictly on its own merit.
In a related development, JAMB granted a two-day grace period, ending Wednesday, October 29, 2025, to candidates who scored 320 and above in the 2025 UTME but were disqualified for failing to upload their O-Level results.
Such candidates are expected to complete the upload and notify the Board through the same support channel within the specified timeframe.
