The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said that candidates under the age of 16 can be considered for admission into tertiary institutions by scoring 80 per cent and above in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
This development follows the recent reversal of the mandatory 18-year admission age benchmark introduced by the former Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman.
The current education minister, Olatunji Alausa,has reinstated the previous benchmark of 16 years, a move widely supported by stakeholders in the education sector.
Jamb Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, says that while the 16-year age requirement remains the standard, exceptional candidates under the age of 16 may be granted admission under strict conditions.