The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has explained why it set the 16-year minimum age requirement for admission into tertiary institutions.
According to JAMB, the policy is supported by existing education laws and informed by evidence linking maturity to academic success.
The board’s Public Communication Adviser, Dr Fabian Benjamin, stated this on Thursday during a dialogue organised by the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria via Zoom.
The dialogue, themed “2026 Admission Policy Review and JAMB Scorecard: A Conversation with the Registrar,” examined key issues surrounding admissions and tertiary education in Nigeria.
There have been calls in some quarters for a review of the tertiary admission age benchmark.
Speaking on the admission age policy, Benjamin said the requirement was not arbitrarily introduced but was rooted in provisions of the National Policy on Education, the Universal Basic Education framework and the country’s 6-3-3-4 education system.
He said, “We didn’t just wake up one night and say it must be 16 years. If you go back and look at the National Council on Education decisions, the Universal Basic Education Commission Act and the National Policy on Education, you will see clearly defined age expectations for primary, secondary and university education.”
