The Federal Government of Nigeria has cleared only 108 of the approximately 39,000 underage candidates who sat the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for admission into tertiary institutions.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during a ceremony organized to receive and honor the highest-scoring candidates and top-performing underage applicants.
According to Dr. Alausa, out of the 2,244,149 candidates who registered for the 2026 UTME and the 2,174,396 who sat the examination, about 39,000 applicants were below the official minimum admission age of 16.
To qualify for an age-exemption waiver, the Ministry established stringent academic and developmental parameters. Underage applicants were required to score a minimum of 320 out of 400 marks (80 percent) in the UTME, attain at least 80 percent in their post-UTME screenings, meet high thresholds in O-Level result evaluations, and pass a specialized screening assessing psychological, emotional, and intellectual maturity.
The Minister explained that out of the underage cohort, only 391 candidates attained the initial benchmark of 320 marks in the UTME. Subsequent rigorous assessments further narrowed the successful pool to just 108 candidates.
”You are the geniuses in our society,” Dr. Alausa stated while presenting plaques and recognition certificates to the outstanding students. He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to identifying exceptionally gifted children early and supporting their intellectual growth to drive national development.
Among the celebrated performers was Owoeye Daniella Jesudunsin, who emerged as the overall highest-scoring candidate in the 2026 UTME with 372 marks, followed closely by Enwere Kingsley Ikenna with 370 marks.
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