The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has published the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results for all underage candidates, but the release does not confer any automatic right to admission, the board clarified.
Definition of Underage Candidates and Result Publication
JAMB's Acting Director of Public Affairs and Protocols, Fabian Benjamin, stated that an underage candidate is any applicant who will be below 16 years of age as of September 30, 2026. The results were made available for viewing to allow candidates, parents, and guardians to check performance figures, not to signal eligibility for university placement.
Benjamin emphasized that the publication is solely for transparency purposes. He said the board wants stakeholders to see how candidates performed, but this does not mean those candidates can proceed to admission without meeting additional requirements.
Conditions for Exceptional Admission
Underage candidates who wish to be considered for admission must fulfil strict requirements under the board's exceptional admission policy. Benjamin explained that such candidates must demonstrate outstanding academic ability and sufficient personal maturity before they can proceed. Even then, they must pass through multiple stages of assessment and verification.
To qualify for exceptional admission, a candidate must achieve a minimum UTME score of 320 and earn at least 80 per cent in the relevant Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) subjects, where applicable. The board did not disclose how many candidates currently meet those thresholds.
Boundary Between Transparency and Admission Access
JAMB's position signals that the board intends to maintain a firm boundary between publishing results for transparency and granting access to tertiary institutions for candidates who have not yet reached the minimum age requirement. Parents and guardians of affected candidates are advised to review the published scores before drawing any conclusions about their children's admission prospects.
The policy reinforces that underage candidates cannot assume their results alone are sufficient for admission. They must go through the rigorous exceptional admission process, which includes multiple verification stages.
Related Reforms: Facial Verification for UTME
In a separate development, Legit.ng reported that JAMB announced plans to introduce Facial Biometric Verification for the UTME as part of reforms under new Registrar Professor Segun Aina. The board said it would partner with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to match candidates' live facial images against their identity records during exams.
JAMB disclosed that facial verification could replace fingerprint authentication and one-time passwords (OTPs) within the next two to three years. This reform is aimed at strengthening the integrity of the examination process.
