The Nigerian federal government has mandated a minimum entry age of 16 years for all admissions into the nation’s tertiary education institutions.
This directive comes with a stern caution that any admission process conducted outside the established Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) will be deemed unlawful, and those responsible will face legal consequences.
Dr Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, conveyed this crucial policy update on Tuesday while inaugurating the ongoing Policy Meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Abuja.
The Minister explicitly warned that leaders of institutions found to be involved in fraudulent admission practices would be subjected to prosecution.
Alausa underscored that the newly stipulated age of 16 for tertiary institution entry is a non-negotiable
At the meeting held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja, the 16-year age limit will be strictly enforced through the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), with allowances made for candidates who will attain the age of 16 by August 31, 2025.
However, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) voiced concerns that some institutions have circumvented this rule.
JAMB noted that these institutions illegally admitted underage candidates outside the CAPS system, reportedly collecting significant tuition fees from them.
“The Board implemented the 16-year admissible age on its CAPS platform and even bent backwards to accommodate candidates who would be 16 as of 31st August 2025,” JAMB stated.
However, some institutions admitted candidates who were not up to the admissible age of 16 outside CAPS and even collected huge sums of money from them as tuition fees.”
JAMB clarified that all such admissions are considered illegal and cannot be processed through CAPS. The Board also revealed that some of these cases have led to legal action against the non-compliant institutions.
This minimum age policy follows last year’s controversy surrounding former Education Minister Prof. Tahir Mamman’s attempt to raise the benchmark to 18, a move that drew widespread criticism from stakeholders.
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National Ranking on UTME Results
In a related development, JAMB announced a significant change to the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results, starting with the 2025 examination.
Each candidate’s result slip will now feature their national ranking among their peers.
This initiative, according to JAMB, aims to curb the practice of celebrating exceptionally high UTME scores in isolation and to combat the proliferation of fabricated results.
“To curb the menace of celebrating top scorers of UTME, candidates’ ranking (position) will be indicated on the result slip for each candidate,” the board explained.
JAMB believes this measure will enable institutions to more effectively evaluate the caliber of applicants and provide a standardized reference point across different examination cohorts.
The board also questioned the rationale behind calls to extend the validity of UTME results, noting that such an extension would introduce complexities regarding the comparability of scores over time.
By publicly indicating national ranking, JAMB anticipates discouraging candidates who might attempt to present falsified scores, while offering institutions a clearer understanding of each applicant’s academic standing relative to others.
For context, JAMB provided data from the 2025 UTME, where a total of 1,905,539 candidates participated. A score of 370 was ranked 16th, 320 was ranked 5,806th, 250 was ranked 107,819th, 200 was ranked 533,805th, 180 was ranked 948,025th, 140 was ranked 1,855,607th, 120 was ranked 1,900,872nd, and 100 was ranked 1,903,661st.
JAMB reaffirmed its dedication to upholding principles of fairness, transparency, and merit-based admissions within Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
The ongoing policy meeting, attended by vice-chancellors, registrars, and provosts from tertiary institutions nationwide, is expected to conclude with the official approval of admission cut-off marks and other essential regulatory guidelines for the upcoming 2025 academic session.
