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The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has explained the conditions under which candidates below the age of 16 can qualify for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions, saying a high score in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) alone is not sufficient.
Alausa said underage candidates seeking exemption from the minimum admission age must demonstrate exceptional academic ability as well as emotional and psychological readiness for higher education.
“As you are aware, we have a stringent policy of not admitting anybody less than 16 years into any of our universities,” the minister said.
He added that the government needed to identify and nurture exceptionally gifted young people.
“But then, for a society that we know we have to nurture, we need to look for talents and look for geniuses in our society and you are the geniuses in our society,” he said.
Alausa spoke in Abuja while receiving the two highest-scoring candidates and six other top-performing underage candidates in the 2026 UTME. The candidates were presented by the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Segun Aina.
According to the minister, candidates seeking an exemption from the minimum admission age must score at least 320 out of 400 in the UTME, representing 80 per cent of the total marks.
He said 391 underage candidates met the minimum score requirement, but only 108 passed the subsequent screening for possible admission.
Figures presented by JAMB showed that 2,244,149 candidates registered for the 2026 UTME, while 2,174,396 sat for the examination. Approximately 39,000 candidates who took the test were below the age of 16.
Alausa explained that the additional assessment was designed to determine whether young candidates who performed exceptionally well academically were also mature enough to cope with the demands of tertiary education.
The government said the policy was intended to protect children from potential psychological pressure and academic difficulties associated with entering higher institutions before they were adequately prepared.
