The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has explained why Kareem Kaamilah Omolarami, an underage candidate who scored 371 in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), was excluded from its final vetting process for minors.
In a statement released on Thursday, the examination body said Omolarami was disqualified after being officially reported absent for her institution’s internal screening, a key stage in the four-phase vetting procedure for underage candidates.
According to JAMB, the Ministry of Education mandates a minimum age of 16 years for entry into Nigerian tertiary institutions to ensure candidates possess the required mental and emotional maturity for higher education.
However, in 2025, JAMB introduced a special vetting process to consider exceptionally brilliant underage candidates who achieved outstanding academic performance.
Of the 41,027 underage candidates who participated in the 2025 UTME, only 176 met the eligibility criteria for the final round of assessments, which included a written test and a face-to-face interview held between October 8 and 9, following an earlier screening phase in late September.
JAMB noted that Omolarami, who had applied to Nile University, successfully scaled through the first two stages—attaining the required minimum UTME score of 320 and meeting the 80 per cent benchmark in her Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).
However, she failed to attend the institution’s internal screening, which forms the third stage of the process. Consequently, she was not invited to the final vetting, which involves a JAMB panel review where candidates must also score at least 80 per cent.
“This report was formally transmitted to the board by the institution, thereby rendering her ineligible to participate in the final screening exercise,” JAMB said.
“Her non-invitation to the final stage was therefore not due to any administrative oversight, bias, or procedural lapse on the part of the board.”
The examination body reiterated its commitment to transparency through the Central Admission Processing System (CAPS), which automates admission procedures to ensure fairness and eliminate human interference.
JAMB added that while it regulates and approves admissions, individual universities are responsible for recommending suitably qualified candidates based on their internal assessments.
The board confirmed that the results of 84 successful underage candidates who completed the final vetting are currently being processed and will be forwarded to their respective institutions for admission.
