ICYMI: Court Halts JAMB’s Age Restriction Policy for University Admissions

The Delta State High Court in Warri has issued a temporary order preventing the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) from enforcing its recent age policy that mandates a minimum age of 16 for university admission. This restriction will remain in place until a full hearing of the case filed against JAMB is completed.

Recall that on October 16, JAMB announced that only candidates who would be 16 years old by August 2025 would be eligible for admission into tertiary institutions. This rule aligns with a recent policy from the Ministry of Education, which set 18 as the minimum age for entry into higher institutions. However, JAMB made an exception for students applying for the 2024/2025 academic session.

John Aikpokpo-Martins, a former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association’s Warri branch, contested the policy in court. Representing candidates born between September 1, 2009, and December 31, 2009, who passed the JAMB exams in 2024, Aikpokpo-Martins filed a lawsuit challenging the age restriction.

Justice Anthony Akpovi, ruling on Thursday, granted all interim reliefs requested by Aikpokpo-Martins. These include a court order that halts JAMB from enforcing its October 16 directive and an interim injunction that allows one candidate, Angel Aikpokpo Martins, to maintain her admission and access to educational facilities pending the case’s resolution.

Justice Akpovi’s ruling directed that the age restriction be temporarily suspended and ordered an accelerated hearing of the case. The judge emphasised that the admission status before JAMB’s new policy should remain unchanged until the court decides.

Meanwhile, it will be recalled that in August, the federal government said underage candidates will no longer be allowed to sit for WAEC and NECO  examinations, which are also essential to gain admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions. Following backlash, the Minister of State for Education, Yussuf Sununu, denied the claims stating exceptions may be made for underage students if they are considered “exceptional”, based on criteria being developed by the ministry. Sununu did not explicitly state if the ban was lifted or not.

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