The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has identified a surge in underage candidates registering for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Over 11,553 candidates below the required age have already enrolled out of the 782,027 registrations recorded in the past 10 days.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, made this revelation on Friday during an inspection of Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres in Lagos. He expressed concern over the growing number of parents pushing their children into tertiary education prematurely.
“Today alone, 443 underage candidates registered. It’s becoming a trend where parents, either due to societal pressure or personal expectations, are enrolling children who are not yet ready,” he stated.
Oloyede also addressed concerns about delays in the registration process, explaining that recent security improvements have slightly slowed the system. However, he reassured candidates that these changes were necessary to prevent errors and ensure a smoother process.
“Unlike before, when candidates could simply click ‘I agree’ to terms without reading, we have now introduced a system that enforces a waiting period, ensuring they review the rules before proceeding,” he added.
Despite these adjustments, JAMB is exceeding its initial registration targets. “We anticipated processing about 60,000 applications daily, but we have been handling between 80,000 and 100,000 candidates per day. This means we are on track to complete registrations ahead of schedule,” Oloyede concluded.
With nearly half of the expected two million candidates already registered, JAMB continues to monitor the situation, particularly regarding underage applicants.
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