Exceptionally talented students under 16 can now take UTME — JAMB registrar

• The JAMB registrar said over 2,000 candidates whose parents have found crooked ways of jumping classes have registered for the window.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said it now allows exceptionally gifted candidates under 16 to take the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Is-haq Oloyede, JAMB registrar, shared this information on Inside Sources, a Sunday news program on Channels TV.

Tunji Alausa, the minister of education, previously announced plans to set 16 as the minimum age for tertiary institution admission.

The ministry initially considered capping admission at 18 but decided to maintain 16 for exceptionally intelligent students.

According to Oloyede, JAMB created the “Exceptionally Brilliant Window” to accommodate gifted under-16 candidates.

“In Nigeria, there are many brilliant students, we have so many excellent people,” the registrar said.

“We are enforcing the 16-year minimum entry into tertiary institutions but some people are saying there are exceptional students. Yes, there are exceptional students but they are just one in a million.

“We are saying 16 years is the minimum but if you know you are exceptional, register for exceptional candidacy – that is you are less than 16 years old and exceptional.

“I’m surprised, just from Monday to now, over 2,000 have registered in the whole country. Some of them are 10, 11, and 12-year-olds whose parents have found crooked ways of jumping classes.

“Normal children cannot grow at a rate higher than their biological age. What parents are now doing is increasing the age of their children, they are doing everything, affidavit of age and everything.

“The parents want to use the children to decorate their CVs. They want to say I am the mother of a lawyer, my child graduated at age 13.”