The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has introduced new requirements for candidates under the age of 16 seeking early admission into Nigerian universities, setting an unusually high benchmark that could limit the chances of many young applicants.

According to the directive, underage candidates must now score a minimum of 320 marks in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), in addition to securing at least 80 percent in Post-UTME and 80 percent in one sitting of WAEC or NECO examinations, with either Mathematics or English Language among the top-scoring subjects.

The new policy effectively raises the bar for under-16 students, making the path to early admission open only to the most exceptional performers.

Education analysts have described the move as JAMB’s attempt to preserve academic standards, ensuring that only the most outstanding young candidates are granted the opportunity to bypass the age requirement. However, others argue that the new rule may be shutting the door on promising prodigies who, despite being brilliant, may find it nearly impossible to attain such scores across all required stages.

“This policy sounds like protecting quality, but in practice, it’s a barrier. How many children can really score above 320 in UTME and still maintain 80 percent in both WAEC and Post-UTME?” one educationist asked.

The debate now centers on whether JAMB is safeguarding Nigeria’s higher education system or unintentionally discouraging gifted students who could have contributed to the country’s academic and scientific advancement at an early age.

For now, only the truly exceptional may stand a chance of crossing this newly raised threshold.