Only 108 of 39,000 under-16 UTME candidates meet admission bar: what it means

Only 108 of about 39,000 candidates aged under 16 who sat the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) have met the conditions to be considered for early university admission, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said in Abuja on Wednesday, 21 October 2026.

The figures were given at a ceremony where Alausa and the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Segun Aina, presented plaques and certificates to the best performers in this year’s exam and to under-16 candidates who cleared the bar.

Why it matters

The minimum age for university admission in Nigeria is 16, but many younger pupils sit the UTME every year. The 2026 figures show how narrow the exception for gifted under-16s is, and what families should weigh before entering a younger child for the 2027 exam.

How many made it?

According to the figures presented at the ceremony, 2,174,396 candidates sat the 2026 UTME and about 39,000 of them were under 16. Of those, 391 scored at least 320 out of 400, or 80%. After the later stages of screening, 108 were found to have met all the requirements.

A GistMatrix analysis of those figures shows that:

• about 1 in every 100 under-16 candidates reached the UTME mark of 320;
• about 28% of those who reached 320, or 108 of 391, went on to meet all the other conditions;
• overall, fewer than 3 in every 1,000 under-16 candidates (about 0.28%) cleared every stage.

What did the under-16s have to do?

JAMB treats as underage anyone who will not be 16 by 30 September of the admission year. “An underage candidate is someone less than 16 years on or before 30th of September of an admission year,” the board said in an explainer video in August.

To get there, the 108 had to clear four hurdles:

• UTME: at least 320 out of 400 (80%).
• Post-UTME: at least 80% in the screening test.
• O-level results: at least 80% in the assessment of their secondary school certificate results.
• Readiness: an assessment of their intellectual, psychological and emotional readiness for university.

The process took months. In April, JAMB held back the results of underage candidates while it evaluated them. In September, it released them so that families could see how they had done, but said they could not be used for admission unless the candidate met the special conditions.

Why does the age limit exist?

Alausa said the minimum age of 16 was not meant to frustrate academically gifted children, but to make sure that those admitted young have the maturity to cope with university life. He told the honoured candidates they represented the future of the country.

The two highest scores among the candidates honoured were 372 and 370 out of 400. GistMatrix is not naming the candidates because some of them are under 16.

ADBN TV’s report on the ceremony and JAMB’s admission reforms is in the video on this page.

Does clearing the bar guarantee a place?

No. The 108 can now be considered for admission, but the final decision rests with the institutions they applied to. “Please note that your admission is solely dependent on the choice of your institution,” JAMB said in its August explainer.

What it means for families

• Check the date: what counts is the candidate’s age on 30 September of the admission year, not on the day of the exam.
• Plan for 80% everywhere: an under-16 needs 320 in the UTME and 80% in both the post-UTME and the O-level assessment, plus the readiness check.
• Expect a long wait: in 2026, underage results were held back in April and released only in September.
• Know the odds: fewer than 3 in 1,000 under-16 candidates made it this year.

What happens next

• Admission: the 108 candidates now go through the admission process of the institutions they chose.
• The 2027 UTME: under a proposed exam timetable, it would be held in March 2027.
• The rules: watch for JAMB’s guidance on underage candidates for the 2027 exam.

Did your child sit the UTME under 16 this year? Tell GistMatrix how the process went for your family.