By Sodiq Adelakun
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced a significant policy change regarding the minimum age for admission for the 2024/2025 academic session.
Institutions are now permitted to admit candidates who will turn 16 by August 31, 2025, as long as they meet the institution’s academic standards.
JAMB Spokesman Fabian Benjamin disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday.
He emphasised that this decision is made “without compromising the standard or infringing on the individual institution’s admission policy.”
In a statement titled “Admission of candidates with minimum admissible age of 16 years,” Benjamin stated, “The Board has now decided to allow any willing institution to admit candidates who will be 16 years old by the 31st of August 2025, so long as the standards set by the institution qualify such candidates but couldn’t be admitted only because of age.”
He clarified that institutions still have the right to uphold their own age policies, asserting, “This is without prejudice to the decision of any institution that might have on its own decided on the minimum age of not less than 16 years, which remains sacrosanct.”
Benjamin urged institutions to “harvest from your CAPS and send the list of candidates who would be 16 years of age between the 1st of January and the 31st of August 2025 who are eligible for admission (if any), not later than a week from the date on this letter to enable a final decision.”.