The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has relaxed the 18-year minimum admission age for the 2024/2025 academic session.
Particularly, the examination body said institutions can admit candidates who will turn 16 by August 31, 2025, “provided they meet the institution’s standards.”
This was disclosed in a statement in Abuja on Thursday by JAMB Spokesperson Dr. Fabian Benjamin.
The Guardian reports that contrary to the 2024 Policy Meeting’s decision setting the minimum admission age at 16 years for this year and 18 years for next year, some institutions have refused to admit students under 18, effectively disregarding the agreed-upon policy.
But in a statement titled “Admission of candidates with minimum admissible age of 16 years,” Dr. Benjamin said, “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, so long as the standards set by the institution qualify such candidates but couldn’t be admitted only because of age.
“This is without prejudice to the decision of any institution that might have on its own decided on the minimum age of not less than 16 years, which remains sacrosanct.
“By this development, you are requested to harvest from your CAPS and send the list of candidates who would be 16 years of age between the 1st of January and the 31st of August 2025 who are eligible for admission (if any), not later than a week from the date on this letter to enable a final decision.”
He said the goal is to ensure equal opportunities by preventing disproportionate benefits for those admitted toward the end of the 2024/2025 admission period.
