Only 108 out of 39,000 underage candidates who sat the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) have met the Federal Government’s requirements for admission into tertiary institutions.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while receiving the two highest-scoring candidates and six other top-performing underage candidates.
Alausa stated that the exercise was intended to ensure that exceptionally gifted children seeking admission before the age of 16 could demonstrate the maturity required to cope with the demands of higher education.
He informed that 2,244,149 candidates registered for the 2026 UTME, while 2,174,396 sat the examination. About 39,000 of those who took the examination were below the minimum admission age of 16 years.
He informed that underage candidates seeking exemption from the age requirement had to score at least 320 out of 400 in the UTME, representing 80 per cent.
They were also required to score a minimum of 80 per cent in their post-UTME examinations, meet the prescribed threshold in the assessment of their O-level results and pass a separate screening to establish their psychological, emotional and intellectual readiness for university education.
The Minister disclosed that only 391 underage candidates scored 320 and above in the UTME, while further assessments reduced the number that met the requirements to 108.
He described the successful candidates as exceptionally gifted, noting that they represented approximately 0.005 per cent of the candidates who sat the examination.
“You are the geniuses in our society,” the minister told the students, adding that the government had a responsibility to identify exceptional talents and nurture them into innovators capable of developing solutions to Nigeria’s challenges”, he said.
Alausa stressed that the minimum admission age of 16 was not designed to frustrate gifted children or prevent them from advancing academically, but to ensure they were adequately prepared for the academic and social demands of university life.
According to him, feedback from the screening exercise showed encouraging levels of confidence and intellectual ability among the candidates, although academic performance alone could not determine their readiness for tertiary education.
The minister said university life required more than high examination scores, as students also needed emotional stability and the ability to navigate the social and intellectual challenges associated with higher learning.
He urged the successful candidates to regard their abilities as a responsibility to society and use their education to develop innovations that would improve lives.
“You are the ones that will change Nigeria and change the world with your innovations,” he said.
Alausa linked the development of exceptional young talents to Nigeria’s broader prospects for growth, describing the country’s youthful population as a resource that must be properly educated and harnessed.
He put Nigeria’s population at an estimated 220 million, with an average age of 18.5 years, adding that about 70 per cent of the population was below 30.
The minister said the Federal Government’s education reforms were aimed at expanding opportunities for young Nigerians and strengthening the country’s capacity to translate their potential into practical solutions to societal challenges.
He congratulated the candidates on behalf of President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Ministry of Education, expressing confidence that their abilities could produce breakthroughs with far-reaching benefits.
Owoeye Daniella Jesudunsin emerged as the highest-scoring candidate with 372 marks, while Enwere Kingsley Ikenna followed with 370.
The eight recognised candidates, including the two highest scorers in the 2026 UTME, received plaques and certificates from the minister.
