The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has successfully released the UTME and final results for 85 underage candidates who passed the rigorous screening process designed for exceptional students. This group of 85 candidates represents those who met specific criteria, stemming from an initial pool of 41,027 candidates identified under this special category for the UTME 2025 examination, specifically those under the age of 16 who achieved a score of at least 320.
In a press statement issued on Monday and signed by the board’s head of media, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, JAMB detailed that the 85 candidates emerged following a series of meticulous evaluations. With this confirmation, the candidates are now officially cleared to proceed with the admission process at their respective chosen institutions.
“All the candidates have been notified to proceed to their respective institutions to complete the admission process and print their individual JAMB admission letters. This policy of exceptional admission is consistent with global best practices, where such cases are treated as rare exceptions rather than the norm,” the statement explained.
Dr. Fabian Benjamin further elaborated that out of the 2,031,133 candidates who participated in the UTME 2025, a total of 41,027 candidates applied for consideration under the special category for underage students. Following the release of the UTME 2025 results, 599 students met the 80% (320) score threshold.
Subsequently, these 599 candidates underwent further scrutiny, including the verification of their school certificates and their performance in the post-UTME screening conducted by their institutions. This detailed review led to the identification of 182 candidates who initially met the requirements. According to JAMB, only 85 candidates ultimately satisfied all criteria after comprehensive verification, interviews, and screening.
During the screening process, some candidates were absent for the final assessment. JAMB has noted that any of the 182 candidates who missed the final interview due to valid reasons can submit a formal request for review.
The board stated that these complaints will be individually reviewed, and decisions will be made based on merit. Candidates eligible to submit a request should do so through the JAMB Support Ticketing System at https://support.jamb.gov.ng, under the newly created category titled: ‘2025 Underage Complaint.’ This specific window is exclusively for the 182 finalists who may have missed the final interview for a valid reason.
Additionally, the board has granted candidates who scored 320 and above in the UTME but failed to upload their O-Level results, and were consequently disqualified from proceeding, an opportunity to upload their results within two days. This deadline is set for Wednesday, October 29. These candidates are required to notify the board of their action through its ticketing platform.
How the Screening Process Went
Under the special consideration for the UTME 2025, specific criteria were established for exceptional candidates, defined as those under the age of 16 as of September 2025, to be considered for admission.
- •Candidates had to register as exceptional minors and complete an indemnity form at their CBT center.
- •A minimum UTME score of 320 out of 400 (80%) was required.
- •A minimum score of 80% in a single sitting of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) or National Examinations Council (NECO) was necessary.
- •Candidates needed to achieve an 80% minimum score on the post-UTME screening conducted by their chosen institution.
- •Science candidates were required to demonstrate a high score in Mathematics, while Arts candidates needed to excel in English Language.
The Screening Process
The specialized screening process for the 2025/2026 academic session was conducted in three distinct phases.
Phase 1: Out of the initial 41,027 underage candidates, only 599 who scored 80% or higher in the UTME met the preliminary academic qualifications for further screening.
Phase 2: The post-UTME screening results from the universities were submitted to JAMB for verification. Candidates who missed their university's internal screening were disqualified from the process.
Phase 3: Following the verification of academic records, 182 candidates were shortlisted for a final assessment. This assessment was conducted by a special technical committee established by JAMB and included subject-specific tests, a face-to-face oral interview, and direct verification of O'Level results with WAEC and NECO.
Upon completion of this comprehensive process, 85 candidates were found to have successfully met all the established criteria and were subsequently cleared for admission.