JAMB releases 85 underage candidates for exceptional admission

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the results of 85 underage candidates (less than 16 by September, 2025) who successfully completed the comprehensive screening process established by the board for exceptional admission.

This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Monday by the spokesperson of JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin.

Benjamin said that after meticulous evaluation, 85 candidates who were adjudged to be qualified had been duly notified to proceed to their respective institutions to complete the admission process and print their individual JAMB admission letters.

He said the policy of exceptional admission was consistent with global best practices, where such cases were treated as rare exceptions rather than the norm.

“It is to be noted that in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), of the 2,031,133 applicants, a total of 41,027 candidates sought consideration under this special category of which 599 score the 80 per cent threshold in the UTME.

“These 599 were subjected to further scrutiny of school certificate and PUTME screening, which led to the emergence of 182 candidates (178+4).

“After due verification, interviews, and screening, 85 candidates were found to have met the criteria and have consequently been cleared for admission.

“Any of the 182 finalist-candidates with valid reason missed the final interview is advised to submit a formal request through the JAMB Support Ticketing System under the newly created category titled – 2025 Underage Complaint.”

Benjamin said that such complaints would be reviewed individually, and decisions would be made strictly on their own merit.

According to him, this window is for only the 182 finalists who might for one reason or the other missed the final interview.

In addition, he said that candidates who score 320 and above in UTME but failed to upload O-Level results and were subsequently disqualified from proceeding were now given a chance to upload no later than Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025 and notify the Board of such through the ticketing.

He reiterated the Board’s commitment to ensuring that the admission process remained credible, transparent, and inclusive, while also maintaining the integrity of academic standards across all tiers of tertiary education in Nigeria.