The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has defended its 16 year minimum admission age requirement while also announcing a new policy aimed at boosting enrolment in colleges of education across Nigeria.

The board's Public Communication Adviser, Dr Fabian Benjamin, addressed both issues during a dialogue organised by the Education Writers Association of Nigeria via Zoom on Thursday. The event, themed "2026 Admission Policy Review and JAMB Scorecard: A Conversation with the Registrar," brought together stakeholders to examine key admission related concerns.

Benjamin maintained that the minimum age requirement was not arbitrarily introduced but was rooted in the National Policy on Education, the Universal Basic Education framework and the country's 6, 3, 3, 4 education system.

"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," he stated.

He noted that JAMB's position was informed by years of monitoring student performance across tertiary institutions. "We have seen over and over again that age continues to play a major role. Beyond academics, education is a serious enterprise. Maturity plays a significant role in who you are, what you want to achieve and how you achieve it," Benjamin added.

The adviser disclosed that the policy includes exceptions for exceptionally gifted candidates. "Yes, there are people with peculiar cognitive abilities. That is why there is an exception for gifted candidates. Such candidates must attain a particular threshold of performance before they can be considered for admission below the prescribed age," he said.

Benjamin recounted a case where a London university wrote to JAMB, querying the credentials of a Nigerian student seeking admission to a master's degree due to the student's age. "We responded and explained the circumstances, and the university was shocked," he revealed.

On the colleges of education policy, Benjamin disclosed that many institutions had been recording critically low enrolment, with some filling less than 20% of available spaces. Under the new arrangement, candidates applying for National Certificate in Education programmes will still register with JAMB but may not be required to sit the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, given low programme demand.

Colleges of education will also be required to stop admitting students directly into degree programmes through affiliate universities, with students instead beginning through the NCE route before progressing to degree programmes within the same institution.

Benjamin noted that the policy formed part of a long term plan agreed upon by education stakeholders to strengthen teacher education and increase the number of qualified teachers in Nigeria.