The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has activated its exceptional candidate policy for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), with qualifying underage applicants now being directed to their institutions of choice for further assessment.

JAMB spokesperson Fabian Benjamin confirmed on Sunday that the board had begun reaching out to affected candidates following public enquiries about the fate of underage applicants whose results had been withheld.

A message sent to one qualifying candidate and verified by Benjamin read: "JAMB hereby notifies you that you have crossed the 80% threshold in the UTME, which is one of the four categories for consideration. As a result, your details have been forwarded to your institution of choice, which will contact you for screening and return the result to the Board. You can contact your chosen institution regarding this. Kindly ensure that you upload your O'level results to the JAMB portal."

Benjamin had clarified in a statement the previous week that candidates must be at least 16 years old by 30 September 2026 to be ordinarily eligible for admission. Underage applicants seeking consideration must score a minimum of 320 in the UTME and attain at least 80% in subsequent screening exercises conducted by their chosen institutions.

He disclosed that based on prior agreements with parents, only candidates meeting the 320 mark benchmark would be shortlisted, effectively narrowing the pathway for exceptional consideration.

Affected candidates had earlier received "No Result Yet" notifications on their portals after the board withheld their results pending the outcome of the screening process. Benjamin urged stakeholders to remain patient, stressing that results would remain unreleased until the exercise is concluded.

The policy, endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Education, is designed to ensure that students admitted into tertiary institutions possess the academic ability and maturity required to handle the demands of university education.

Chosen institutions are expected to contact qualifying candidates directly, conduct the screening, and return outcomes to the board for final processing.