UTME 2025: JAMB Sets Admission Criteria for 599 Underage Candidates Who Scored 320 and Above
- The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has given an update on the admission process of underage candidates in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME)
- JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, said the examination board has set admission criteria for the 599 underage candidates
- Legit.ng reports that the UTME underage candidates are students who scored 320 and above but are not 16 years old
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Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering basic and tertiary education in Nigeria and worldwide.
FCT, Abuja - The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has inaugurated a committee to oversee the admission process for the underage candidates in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The committee is to set admission criteria for underage 599 candidates who scored 320 and above but were not qualified for admission due to age.
Source: Facebook
The exception candidates are underage because they are not at the mandatory 16 years.
JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, said that between now and September, those who would scale the hurdle from the 599 candidates would be announced.
As reported by The Punch, Prof Oloyede stated this on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, while speaking at the sidelines of the inaugural meeting of the committee members in Bwari, Abuja.
“Their school certificates will be weighted, which means they must have scored 80 per cent, and for the post-UTME, the institution will submit the scores of the candidates, latest by September 16.”
He added that any candidate who scored below 80 in the post-UTME was already out of it.
Oloyede said that the committee would decide the modalities for determining “specially gifted candidates” from the 599 underage candidates who scored 320 and above.
“The committee will decide on the dates, what to do, and who to pick at the end.
“They will pick candidates that are exceptionally brilliant to be admitted into tertiary schools, in a bid to encourage them.”
Legit.ng reports that JAMB is the entrance examination board for tertiary-level institutions in Nigeria. The board conducts the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for prospective undergraduates into Nigerian universities
Source: Twitter
JAMB 2025: 15-year-old girl scores 324 in UTME
Recall that a 15-year-old girl, Nwokoro Chiamaka Nnenna, followed her elder brother's footsteps by scoring 324 in the 2025 UTME.
The teenager scored 75 in Use of English, 85 in Biology, 72 in Chemistry, and 92 in Physics to get an overall score of 324.
During an exclusive chat with Legit.ng, her mother said the girl was 14 years old when she registered, and failure to score 80% (320), the candidate will never sit for the exam again until 16 years old.
FG sets minimum age for tertiary school admission.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led federal government set a minimum age for admission into tertiary institutions in the country.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said 16 years is the minimum age for a tertiary institution.
Alausa's announcement on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, solidifies a stance that has seen some back-and-forth discussions in the past.
Source: Legit.ng
