By Joseph Erunke, Abuja
Only 108 out of about 39,000 underage candidates who sat the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) have survived the Federal Government’s rigorous screening for possible admission into tertiary institutions, underscoring the high academic and maturity standards imposed on exceptionally young applicants.
The candidates emerged after a stringent selection process that required applicants to demonstrate outstanding academic performance and psychological, emotional and intellectual readiness for university education.
Minister of Education Dr Tunji Alausa disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while receiving the two highest-scoring candidates and six best-performing underage candidates in the 2026 UTME, presented by the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Prof. Segun Aina.
Alausa said the outcome followed a multi-stage screening exercise designed to ensure that admission opportunities for exceptionally gifted children would not come at the expense of their preparedness for the demands of higher education.
According to him, 2,244,149 candidates registered for the 2026 UTME, while 2,174,396 eventually sat the examination. Of these, approximately 39,000 were below the prescribed minimum admission age of 16 years.
The minister explained that candidates seeking exemption from the age requirement had to meet a series of demanding conditions, beginning with a minimum UTME score of 320 out of 400, representing 80 per cent.
They were also required to score at least 80 per cent in their post-UTME examinations, attain the stipulated 80 per cent threshold in the assessment of their O-level results and pass a screening exercise to establish their psychological, emotional and intellectual readiness for university education.
Alausa disclosed that only 391 underage candidates scored at least 320 in the UTME, with further assessments reducing the number eligible for possible admission to just 108.
He described the successful candidates as exceptionally gifted, noting that they represented approximately 0.005 per cent of the candidates who sat the examination.
“You are the geniuses in our society,” the minister told the students, stressing that the government had a responsibility to identify exceptional talents and nurture them into innovators capable of developing solutions to Nigeria’s challenges and those of the wider world.
The minister said the minimum admission age of 16 was not intended to frustrate academically gifted children or deny them opportunities to advance, but to ensure that those admitted at a younger age possessed the maturity required to cope with university life.
He said the screening exercise had yielded encouraging feedback, particularly regarding the candidates’ confidence, intellectual ability and responses to questions designed to assess their preparedness for higher education.
According to him, exceptional academic performance alone cannot be the sole basis for admitting children into tertiary institutions, as university education also demands emotional stability and the capacity to navigate its social and intellectual challenges.
Alausa urged the successful candidates to see their academic abilities as a responsibility to society, rather than merely an opportunity to secure early admission and personal advancement.
“You are the ones that will change Nigeria and change the world with your innovations,” he said.
The minister linked the recognition of exceptional young talents to the country’s broader development prospects, arguing that Nigeria’s youthful population represented a major resource that must be properly educated and harnessed.
He put Nigeria’s population at an estimated 220 million, with an average age of 18.5 years, adding that about 70 per cent of the population was below 30.
Alausa said the Federal Government’s education reforms were designed to expand opportunities for young Nigerians and strengthen the country’s capacity to turn their potential into innovations and solutions that could improve lives.
He congratulated the candidates on behalf of President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Ministry of Education, expressing confidence that their abilities could translate into breakthroughs capable of benefiting millions of people.
The eight recognised candidates, including the two highest scorers in the 2026 UTME, received plaques and certificates from the minister.
Owoeye Daniella Jesudunsin emerged as the highest-scoring candidate with 372 marks, while Enwere Kingsley Ikenna followed with 370.
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