JAMB Shifts Final Date For Underage UTME Candidates

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has moved the final assessment date for underage candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

The change comes after several universities failed to send in their Post-UTME results on time.

Out of the 71 universities chosen by the affected students, 23 did not meet the September 15 deadline. The delay followed the release of the 2025 Senior School Certificate Examination results by the National Examinations Council on September 17, which was expected to clear the way for processing.

The universities involved include the University of Lagos with 39 candidates, Nile University of Nigeria in Abuja with 18, Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka with 15, University of Abuja with 12, and University of Uyo with 9. Altogether, 135 underage candidates are affected by the setback.

JAMB has written to the universities, warning them to immediately forward the outstanding scores. The Board reminded all institutions of their obligations under the Central Admissions Processing System, which requires strict timelines for admissions.

Public universities must submit their recommended candidates by September 30, while private universities have until October 31. The Board has also fixed October 30 as the final deadline for public universities and November 31 for private ones.

These timelines were agreed at the 2025 Policy Meeting on Admissions chaired by the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa. JAMB insists that all schools must comply to ensure a fair and transparent admission process for the 2025–2026 academic year.

The Board stressed that failure to keep to these dates will disrupt the admission calendar and affect thousands of students. By shifting the assessment date, JAMB aims to give the defaulting universities time to put their records in order and prevent underage candidates from being unfairly excluded.