The Federal Government has officially fixed the minimum entry age for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions at 16 years.
This announcement was made by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, during the 2025 Policy Meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) held on Tuesday in Abuja.
“This policy decision reflects a balance between cognitive maturity and academic preparedness. 16 years is non-negotiable,” the minister declared.
He explained that while the new benchmark would guide the admissions process nationwide, there would be room for exceptional cases—particularly for gifted children who can provide documented proof of advanced academic achievement.
Dr. Alausa cautioned tertiary institutions against manipulating applicants’ age details, warning that such infractions would not be tolerated and would attract appropriate penalties.
In a broader move to sanitize the education system, the minister introduced new strategies to combat examination malpractice, describing it as a “cancer” that continues to weaken meritocracy and public trust in Nigeria’s academic institutions.
As part of these reforms, the government has established a Central Examination Malpractice Unit within the Federal Ministry of Education. The unit will be chaired by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Abel Enitan.
According to the minister, the newly formed unit will function as a national database for tracking and documenting cases of exam fraud across all educational levels.
“This central database will be accessible to all institutions.
It is our hope that this will reduce the tendency to engage in malpractices, as offenders will be appropriately tried under the Exam Malpractices Act,” he stated.
The minister also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) in transitioning to computer-based testing aimed at reducing cheating and promoting fairness in assessment.
