The Federal Government has shortlisted only 108 candidates from nearly 39,000 underage students who sat the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for possible admission into tertiary institutions after a rigorous screening exercise.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the candidates had satisfied the government’s stringent academic and psychological requirements for consideration for admission below the stipulated minimum age of 16.
Alausa spoke on Wednesday in Abuja while receiving the two best-performing candidates in the 2026 UTME and six other outstanding underage candidates presented by the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Segun Aina.
The minister explained that the screening process was introduced to ensure that young candidates seeking early admission possessed not only exceptional academic abilities but also the emotional and intellectual maturity needed to succeed in a university environment.
According to him, 2,244,149 candidates registered for the 2026 UTME, while 2,174,396 eventually sat the examination. About 39,000 candidates were below the minimum admission age of 16.
He said applicants seeking consideration for admission before reaching the prescribed age were required to score at least 320 out of 400 in the UTME, representing 80 per cent.
They were also expected to obtain a minimum of 80 per cent in their post-UTME examinations, meet the required benchmark in the assessment of their O-level results and pass a separate evaluation of their psychological, emotional and intellectual preparedness.
Alausa disclosed that 391 underage candidates scored at least 320 in the UTME, but the subsequent stages of assessment reduced the number of successful applicants to 108.
He described the successful candidates as exceptionally gifted, noting that they represented about 0.005 per cent of the candidates who sat the examination.
“You are the geniuses in our society,” the minister said, urging the students to use their abilities to develop innovative solutions to problems confronting Nigeria and the rest of the world.
He stressed that the government's minimum admission age policy was not intended to discourage talented children or prevent them from progressing academically.
Rather, he said, the requirement was aimed at ensuring that candidates admitted at a young age could cope with the academic demands and social realities of university life.
The minister noted that the screening exercise produced encouraging results, particularly in the candidates’ confidence, intellectual capacity and ability to respond to questions designed to assess their readiness for higher education.
He argued that high examination scores alone should not determine whether a child is ready for university, adding that emotional stability and the ability to manage the challenges associated with tertiary education were equally important.
Alausa urged the successful candidates to regard their abilities as an opportunity to contribute to national development, rather than merely as a means of securing early admission or personal advancement.
“You are the ones that will change Nigeria and change the world with your innovations,” he said.
He further described Nigeria’s youthful population as a significant national asset that required deliberate investment in education and skills development to unlock its potential.
The minister put the country’s population at an estimated 220 million, with an average age of 18.5 years, saying about 70 per cent of Nigerians were below the age of 30.
He said the Federal Government’s education reforms were designed to expand opportunities for young people and equip the country to translate their talents into innovations capable of improving lives.
Alausa congratulated the students on behalf of President Bola Tinubu and the Ministry of Education, expressing confidence that their abilities could produce achievements with substantial benefits for society.
The eight students recognised at the event received plaques and certificates from the minister.
Owoeye Daniella Jesudunsin emerged as the highest-scoring candidate in the 2026 UTME with 372 marks, followed by Enwere Kingsley Ikenna, who scored 370.
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