By Janet Salihu
Only 108 out of approximately 39,000 under-16 candidates who sat the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) have met the Federal Government’s stringent requirements for consideration for admission into tertiary institutions.
The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while honouring outstanding candidates in the 2026 UTME, including the two highest-scoring candidates and six exceptional underage performers presented by the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Segun Aina.
Alausa said the outcome reflected a rigorous screening process designed to ensure that exceptionally gifted children seeking early admission demonstrated not only academic excellence but also the psychological, emotional and intellectual maturity required for university education.
According to the minister, 2,174,396 candidates sat the 2026 UTME, while approximately 39,000 were below the prescribed minimum admission age of 16.
He explained that candidates seeking consideration for admission below the age limit were required to score at least 320 out of 400 in the UTME, representing 80 per cent, in addition to meeting the stipulated requirements for their O’level results, post-UTME performance and a screening exercise to assess their readiness for higher education.
Alausa disclosed that only 391 underage candidates attained the minimum UTME score of 320, with further assessments narrowing the number eligible for consideration to 108.
He described the successful candidates as an exceptional group, noting that they represented approximately 0.005 per cent of the total number of candidates who sat the examination.
Addressing the young achievers, the minister said their performance demonstrated the potential of young Nigerians to develop innovations capable of addressing national and global challenges.
“You represent the future of our country,” he told the candidates.
He added: “You are the ones that will change Nigeria and the world with your innovations.”
Alausa congratulated the candidates on behalf of President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Ministry of Education, urging them to look beyond academic qualifications and focus on developing practical solutions that would improve lives.
He said the government recognised their exceptional abilities and expected them to channel their talents towards innovations that could benefit millions of people.
The minister explained that the minimum admission age policy was designed to ensure that students possessed the necessary maturity to cope with the demands of tertiary education, while allowing exceptional candidates to be considered through an established screening process.
He said the assessment had enabled the authorities to identify candidates whose intellectual abilities, confidence and responses during screening demonstrated their preparedness for university education.
The ceremony featured the presentation of awards to the best-performing candidates in the 2026 UTME and outstanding candidates in the under-16 category.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings