Victoria Mgbanwa
The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has expressed concern over the increasing number of underage candidates registering for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), revealing that 11,553 such cases have been recorded so far in the 2025 registration exercise.
Speaking during an inspection of computer-based test centers in Lagos on Friday, Oloyede noted that a growing number of parents were pushing their children into tertiary education prematurely, a trend that raises questions about readiness and the overall impact on higher education.
“This year, we’ve introduced a system that allows us to identify and track underage candidates. This will help us understand their issues and even identify those who might be genuinely gifted but still underage,” Oloyede stated.
The registrar attributed the trend to societal pressure and parental influence, emphasizing that many of these children may not be emotionally or academically prepared for university life.
“It has become common now for parents, whether mothers or fathers, to register their underage children, sometimes due to pressure or other reasons,” he said.
Beyond the issue of age, Oloyede highlighted the challenges in the registration process, including technical delays and the reluctance of some students to fully engage with the system. He noted that new measures, such as mandatory reading of exam guidelines before submission, had been introduced to enhance the process.
According to the JAMB boss, the registration exercise has recorded significant progress, with over 782,000 candidates enrolled in just ten days. Oloyede assured that JAMB was on track to complete the process efficiently while maintaining strict monitoring mechanisms.
As the number of registered candidates continues to rise, the debate on the appropriate age for university admission in Nigeria remains a key issue, raising questions about educational policies and the readiness of young students to navigate the demands of higher education.
