Stakeholders in Nigeria's education sector have commended the Registrar and Chief Executive of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Is-haq Oloyede, for organizing what is considered the country's first national stakeholder engagement focusing on underage students admitted into tertiary institutions. The event, held on Tuesday in Abuja under the auspices of the JAMB Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG), brought together 283 participants under the theme, “Achieving Success in Higher Education of Underage Students Admitted in the 2025/2026 Session.”
Participants included vice-chancellors, parents, education experts, child development specialists, legal authorities, and the underage students themselves. Speaking with journalists at the conclusion of the event, Professor Emeritus Peter Okebukola, President of Global University for Innovation (GUNi-Africa), described the initiative as unprecedented in global higher education administration. According to him, no higher education system in the world has established a national support framework for exceptionally gifted underage students similar to the one introduced by Oloyede.
The event revealed that 96 students below the statutory minimum age of 16 were admitted into Nigerian universities for the 2025/2026 academic session after successfully passing a rigorous multi-layered screening process approved by the Federal Ministry of Education. To qualify, each candidate was required to score at least 320 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), obtain a minimum of 80 per cent in post-UTME examinations, score at least 80 per cent in the Senior School Certificate Examination, and also attain 80 per cent in an independent expert assessment interview.
Oloyede stressed that the admissions were “neither accidental nor sentimental,” noting that the policy on age requirements for tertiary admission dates back to the 1981 National Policy on Education. He explained that the policy was designed to align learning progression with cognitive and emotional development stages, ordinarily positioning candidates for university admission at about 16 years of age. According to him, educational progression goes beyond academic exposure and must also prepare learners socially and emotionally for life and society. The JAMB registrar added that some universities, including University of Lagos and University of Ibadan, strictly uphold the 16-year admission benchmark regardless of academic brilliance.
In his opening remarks, Okebukola, who chairs JEOG, said the group views the underage students not as a challenge but as “an extraordinary opportunity and a shared national responsibility.” He disclosed that mentors had been individually assigned to each of the 96 students, adding that institutions, parents, counsellors and administrators all have indispensable roles to play in ensuring their success. “Our task today is to ensure that precocity is met not with neglect or indifference, but with wisdom, structure and genuine love for the young,” he said.
The engagement featured three technical sessions focusing on pedagogy, psychology and legal frameworks guiding the education and welfare of gifted underage students. The first session examined instructional and mentoring strategies for gifted learners, with presentations by Professor Uchenna Maristella Nzewi of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Professor Foluso Okebukola of Lagos State University, and Professor Grace Eno Nta of the University of Calabar. The second session, moderated by Professor Gaji Fatima Dantata of Bayero University Kano, explored psychological issues associated with underage university life, including emotional adjustment, stress management and counselling models.
