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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
No fewer than 176 candidates participated in the nationwide screening exercise for underage candidates (below 16) who participated in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for admissions into various tertiary institutions.
Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said the face to face screening was one of the hurdles to cross as an underage candidate before admission could be secured.
Chairman of the Abuja Centre for the screening of underage candidates, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja explained that 22 candidates participated in the exercise in Abuja, which started with a written examination before proceeding to face-to-face interviews.
He added: “They did the first paper, which took about 20 minutes. After that, the papers were marked, and they proceeded to the second session, and after that, the third one before the face to face interaction with the candidates.”
Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Prof. Paulinus Okwelle, who served as the c hairman of the Owerri centre, expressed satisfaction with the smooth conduct of the exercise.
He disclosed that a total of 38 out of 43 shortlisted underage candidates drawn from the South-South and South-East geopolitical zones participated in the screening exercise at the Owerri Centre
He commended the candidates for their orderly behaviour and assured that the screening process would strictly adhere to the guidelines provided by JAMB.
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Meanwhile, chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Mohammed Muntari Dandutse, commended JAMB for providing a platform for talented underage candidates to demonstrate their abilities.
He said: “Now they are giving leverage to the underage so that they can go to the universities based on their ability to pass these examinations. It is very important for them (underage) to be assessed because of the maturity of focus.
“Because if you take underage to go to the university and doesn’t perform, it is a useless venture. So, it is better that the examination is carried out so that the best talent can be selected and it will pave the way for the development of this country.”
Similarly, the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Examination Bodies, Hon. Oboku Oforji, who also monitored the exercise in Abuja, lauded the students for their outstanding performance, noting that it reflects Nigeria’s competitiveness in education across Africa.
“’For these underage children to have performed exceptionally well, it tells how we are doing in education as of today. And we are very proud of the agency-JAMB, and we want to encourage them to do more. Even though we believe that with what we sighted, more is supposed to be encouraged,” he said.
A total of 41,027 candidates applied for underage opportunity under the category of exceptionally brilliant underage candidates for the 2025 UTME, but only 599 scored 80 per cent and above.
Some were later disqualified for not meeting the recommended benchmark in their O-Level or Post-UTME results, thus leaving only 176 confirmed for final assessment.
The screening panel comprised representatives from the Federal Ministry of Education, National Universities Commission (NUC), Vice Chancellors, the Gifted School, among others.
