The Federal Government has officially fixed 16 years as the minimum age for candidates seeking admission into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, made the announcement during the 2025 Policy Meeting on Admissions held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja.
According to the minister, the age requirement will be strictly enforced via the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), with provisions made for candidates who will attain the age of 16 on or before 31st August 2025.
However, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) expressed concern that some institutions continue to flout this directive by admitting underage candidates outside of CAPS and collecting significant tuition fees from them. The board warned that such admissions are illegal, cannot be processed through CAPS, and have in some cases led to lawsuits against the offending institutions.
The reemphasis on the 16-year benchmark follows last year’s controversy after former Education Minister, Professor Tahir Mamman, attempted to raise the minimum admission age to 18 — a proposal that was met with strong opposition from stakeholders.