Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), yesterday, screened 176 exceptional underage candidates who scored high marks in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

This is as the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Examination Bodies has dropped a hint that it would review the controversial admission age policy.

The screening exercise, designed to ensure that only outstanding and well-prepared candidates below the age of 16 are considered for admission into tertiary institutions for the 2025/2026 academic session, was conducted by experts assembled by the exam body.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, the Chairman of the Abuja Centre, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, expressed satisfaction with the smooth conduct of the exercise, which was also held simultaneously in Owerri and Lagos.

On the screening procedure, Adedoja explained that candidates first sat for a written examination before proceeding to face-to-face interviews.

“They did the first paper, which took like 20 minutes, and after that, the papers were marked, and they proceeded to the second session, and after that, the third one, and we will have a face-to-face interaction with them,” he said.

The former minister of sports noted that 22 candidates participated in the Abuja centre, while 176 candidates took part nationwide. Also speaking after monitoring the exercise, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Mohammed Muntari Dandutse, commended JAMB for providing a platform for talented underage candidates to demonstrate their abilities.

Dandutse also reaffirmed the National Assembly’s commitment to supporting President Bola Tinubu’s education policies aimed at national development, while commending JAMB for its consistency and transparency.

On his part, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Examination Bodies, Oboku Oforji, who also monitored the exercise in Abuja, lauded the students for their outstanding performance, noting that it reflects Nigeria’s competitiveness in education across Africa.

On its planned review of the admission age policy, the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Examination Bodies pledged continued support for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and other examination bodies to enable them to effectively discharge their mandates.

Chairman of the Committee, Oforji Oboku, gave the assurance yesterday when he led members of the committee to visit the venue of the ongoing “underage examination” organised by JAMB in Abuja. Oboku commended the exceptional performance of the young candidates, describing them as a source of national pride.