41,000 Underage Candidates Sit 2025 UTME Despite Age Restriction

Over 41,000 candidates below the age of 16 were among the more than two million registered for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), despite the age restriction for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions.

Real-time data from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) registration dashboard on Tuesday revealed that 41,027 underage candidates were part of the 2.03 million who registered for this year’s exam.

The development came as the Federal Government reaffirmed its stance on the age requirement for tertiary education admission. The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, recently reiterated that the minimum age for admission remains 16 years, a policy he said will be strictly enforced going forward.

“Candidates below this age would not be eligible for admission, although exceptions would be made for academically gifted students,” Alausa clarified.

JAMB echoed the minister’s position, stating that underage candidates can only be considered for admission if they demonstrate outstanding academic ability by scoring at least 80 per cent in the UTME. This translates to a minimum score of 320 out of 400.

The clarification followed the reversal of a controversial 18-year age benchmark earlier introduced by former Education Minister, Prof. Tahir Mamman. The reinstated 16-year requirement has been broadly welcomed by stakeholders in the education sector.