Only 108 Underage Candidates Qualify For University Admission – Alausa

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has described under-16 candidates who scored above 80 per cent within the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) because the geniuses who will change Nigeria and the world, saying they signify simply 0.005 per cent of all JAMB candidates.

Alausa stated this whereas internet hosting some candidates in his workplace, the place he famous that Nigeria has 220 million individuals, a mean age of 18.5 years, and 70 per cent of the inhabitants beneath 30.

He stated President Bola Tinubu isunique as a result of whebelieves within the youth aas thefutureand is finishing up transformative cchange,not aust for ythe ounger era, abut for allstudents , affirmingthat the longer term ris theirs

“For a society that we know we have to harness, nurture and look for talents and look for geniuses in our society. And you are the genius. You are the geniuses in our society,” he stated.

He stated the scholars current are the extremely selective individuals in society, being under-16 college students who may have the privilege of attending college regardless of the Federal Government’s stringent coverage of not admitting anybody beneath 16 years into any tertiary establishment, particularly newly established universities.

Alausa defined that the coverage exemption was to harness, nurture and establish skills and geniuses, as a result of they’re those who will present options and develop improvements that can energy the nation and the world.

He added that following the rigorous choice course of, solely 108 candidates met the stipulated necessities.

Giving the statistics of how the 108 emerged, Alausa stated 2,244,149 candidates registered for the 2026 UTME, out of which 2,174,396 sat for the examination, and 39,000 of those that sat have been beneath 16 years.

He stated the primary criterion for underage admission was to attain 80 per cent in UTME, which equates to 320 out of 400, noting that solely 391 of the under-16 candidates scored above 80 per cent.

He listed the opposite standards as scoring 80 per cent within the post-UTME examination, scoring 80 per cent based mostly on the rating of O-level outcomes, and passing a screening check to verify maturity and psychological and emotional readiness to enter college.

Alausa disclosed that he met with the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, who sat within the screening check and gave suggestions that he was blown away by the extent of mind, confidence and composure of the candidates in addressing the screening questions.

He stated that from 2.1 million individuals who sat for the examination and 39,000 within the under-16 age group, solely 108 certified in the long run, with six of them current on the assembly, together with the 2 best-performing candidates in JAMB.

The Minister stated the Ministry could be very pleased with them and that they may enter establishments not simply to review, as a result of they’re already forward of the typical college students, and their lecturers may have issue instructing them as they’re far forward.

He stated they’re those that can change Nigeria and alter the world with their improvements.

He congratulated them on behalf of himself, the Minister of State for Education, the JAMB registrar and everyone on the Federal Ministry of Education, on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and on behalf of all Nigerians, including that the nation expects them to deliver improvements and options that can influence tens of hundreds of thousands of individuals in Nigeria and lots of of hundreds of thousands on this planet.

Speaking throughout an interview, the general finest candidate, Owoeye Daniella Jesudunsin, who scored 372, stated rising as the highest was not simple and got here at a value.

She stated, “It is good to become the best, but there is no success without a price. For every star there is always a cost. The journey was actually not very easy. But I want to thank God I was overall successful and my efforts paid off.”

On the notion that faculty is a rip-off, she stated, “I have observed that there are many great people in Nigeria that because of education, education gave them the edge over their mates. Education pushed many great people from humble backgrounds into the spotlight and made them great. So education, school, is not a scam. It actually helps even people from really poor backgrounds.”

Also talking, Kingsley Ikenna, who emerged second total finest with 370, stated his feat was sudden. He attributed his success to prayers, assist from his mom and academics, and expressed optimism that others might succeed if given the precise assist and other people round them.