Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has restated that the minimum admission age into the nation’s tertiary institutions remains 16 years, stressing that the policy is backed by national education laws and research on cognitive development.

JAMB’s outgoing Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, noted that while exceptionally gifted students might be admitted earlier, maturity was vital for academic success.

Speaking at the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria (EWAN) dialogue series, Oloyede, who was represented by JAMB’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dr Fabian Benjamin, clarified that the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) was not a pass-or-fail test but a ranking tool.

He emphasised that candidates’ O’Level results remained the fundamental requirement for admission.

According to him, a candidate with 180 UTME marks may gain admission while another with 300 may not, depending on institutional quotas and course demand. He likened the UTME to a vehicle with limited seats, explaining that while many may qualify, the exam would determine who occupied the available spaces.

On the Federal Government’s recent exemption of Colleges of Education candidates from UTME, Oloyede described it as a temporary measure to address declining enrolment in teacher education.

According to him, some colleges struggle to fill even 10 per cent of their approved quotas, with institutions admitting students outside JAMB’s Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS).

The registrar attributed the low interest in education courses to poor incentives for teachers, urging reforms such as scholarships, tuition-free education, and improved welfare packages.

He highlighted the new Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE)-to-degree structure, which allows students to complete both qualifications in five years instead of six, as part of efforts to attract more candidates.

Oloyede also apologised to candidates who faced challenges with JAMB’s online services this year, citing system upgrades. He assured that most issues had been resolved and announced that the correction portal would soon reopen, though certain details, such as names and age after admission, would remain unchangeable to prevent fraud.

He further explained that the dual mandate system in Colleges of Education, which allowed them to run separate NCE and affiliated university degree programmes, had been phased out.

Under the new arrangement, colleges will operate integrated NCE-to-degree programmes, subject to strict accreditation by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE).