The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that students under the age of sixteen will not be eligible for admission into tertiary institutions for the 2024/2025 academic session.
This decision was communicated by JAMB’s spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, on Sunday.
During a press conference, Benjamin explained that this policy follows the directive from the Chairman of the 2024 tertiary admission policy meeting, who is also the Honourable Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman. The minimum age requirement for admission will remain at 16 years, as decided in the policy meeting.
Benjamin emphasized that this measure is crucial to maintaining the integrity of the education system. “For the 2024 admission cycle, only candidates who are at least sixteen years old at the time of admission will be considered eligible. This decision follows the directive from the Chairman of the 2024 tertiary admission policy meeting, who is also the Honourable Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, SAN, OON. The existing policy of 6-3-3-4 will be enforced starting from the 2025 session,” he stated.
He highlighted the issue of falsified affidavits and doctored age adjustments on National Identification Number (NIN) slips being submitted to JAMB to meet age requirements. “The alarming increase in false affidavits and doctored age adjustments on NIN slips submitted to JAMB is dangerous and unnecessary. Candidates under 16 will not be admitted, in line with the decision of the 2024 Policy Meeting,” Benjamin asserted.
Benjamin also raised concerns about emerging, unapproved admissions practices such as the “Daily-Part-Time” (DPT) programmes offered by some polytechnics and the “Top Up” (TU) programmes by certain universities. He described these programmes as fraudulent and not sanctioned by the relevant authorities.
He cited an example from Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic in Eruwa, Oyo State, which advertised a two-year DPT programme. “These programmes are not approved by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) or the National Universities Commission (NUC). They are fraudulent schemes designed to bypass quality controls, falsify records, and generate illegitimate income,” Benjamin explained.
Benjamin further noted that part-time programmes are strictly regulated, with institutions allowed to admit only up to 150% of their approved full-time capacity. However, he revealed that some institutions have been admitting excessive numbers of candidates through unrecognized DPT programmes, merging them with full-time students, and graduating them together. “This practice undermines the quality of education and misleads both students and authorities,” he concluded.
