The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has authorized tertiary institutions in Nigeria to proceed with the admission process for candidates aged 16 years old until August 2025.
This decision, announced in a statement on Thursday, aims to promote equity among institutions whose admission exercises for the 2024 academic year may extend into the following year.
In the statement, JAMB noted that the issue of setting a minimum age for admission was thoroughly discussed at the 2024 Policy Meeting, where it was determined that candidates must be at least 16 years old for the 2024/25 academic session.
Consequently, the cut-off date for this age requirement was established as December 31, 2024.
JAMB emphasized the need for flexibility in its approach, acknowledging that certain institutions may conduct their admission processes until as late as July 2025.
“Without compromising the standard or infringing on the individual institution’s admission policy, the Board has now decided to allow any willing institution to admit candidates who will be 16 years old by the 31st of August 2025, as long as the standards set by the institution qualify such candidates but couldn’t be admitted only because of age,” the statement read.
It also clarified that any institution with its own minimum age requirement of 16 years or older is free to maintain that standard, which remains “sacrosanct.”
To facilitate this process, JAMB has requested that institutions collect data from their Central Admissions Processing System and submit a list of candidates who will turn 16 between January 1 and August 31, 2025, and are eligible for admission.
Institutions must provide this information no later than one week from the date of the announcement to enable a timely decision-making process.
This initiative reflects JAMB’s commitment to ensuring fair access to education for all eligible candidates while upholding the integrity of the admissions process across the nation’s higher education institutions.
