The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has held its first national stakeholder engagement on underage students admitted for the 2025/2026 academic session, drawing 283 participants to discuss support systems for the 96 students below 16 years old.
The forum, convened Tuesday by the JAMB Equal Opportunity Group on behalf of Registrar Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, brought together vice-chancellors, parents, educators, child development specialists, legal experts, and the students themselves under the theme “Achieving Success in Higher Education of Underage Students Admitted in the 2025/2026 Session.”
Prof. Emeritus Peter Okebukola, President of Global University for Innovation Africa and Chairman of JEOG, said no other higher education system had set up a national support structure of this scale for underage students. He said JEOG had assigned individual mentors to each of the 96 students, noting that “precocity is met not with neglect or indifference, but with wisdom, structure and genuine love for the young.”
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The students were admitted after meeting strict criteria approved by the Federal Ministry of Education: minimum scores of 80% in UTME, post-UTME, Senior School Certificate Examination, and an independent expert interview. Oloyede said the process ensured admission was “neither accidental nor sentimental.”
He cited the 1981 National Policy on Education, which sets tertiary entry at around 16 years to align with cognitive and emotional development. Some universities, including Lagos and Ibadan, continue to enforce the age limit strictly.
The engagement featured three technical sessions on pedagogy for gifted students, psychological adjustment to university life, and legal frameworks under the Child Rights Act. Selected students also shared experiences on academic workload, social integration, and emotional adjustment.
Participants endorsed using the label “Exceptionally Brilliant Underage Students” for those admitted through JAMB’s process. Vice-chancellors from UI, LASU, ABUAD, Covenant University, Unilorin, and others pledged support.
JEOG said the Abuja meeting marks the start of a sustained programme, with zonal sessions planned to ensure the students complete their studies safely and successfully.
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