The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has announced the launch of the Exceptionally Brilliant Window, allowing candidates under the age of 16 to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Oloyede, who is also a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, made this statement during his appearance on the Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political program aired on Channels Television.
He explained, “In Nigeria, there are many brilliant students; we have a lot of exceptional people. While the 16-year minimum age for university entry is being enforced, some argue that there are exceptional students. Yes, such students exist, but they are extremely rare—one in a million. We set the 16-year minimum, but if you consider yourself exceptional, you can apply for exceptional candidacy if you’re under 16.”
Oloyede further revealed that over 2,000 students have already registered nationwide, including some as young as 10, 11, or 12 years old, whose parents have found ways to bypass class levels.
He added, “Normal children cannot develop faster than their biological age.
However, some parents are increasing their children’s ages by using methods like affidavits.
They want to flaunt their children’s achievements, saying, for example, ‘I am the mother of a lawyer, my child graduated at age 13.’”
