JAMB to penalise underage candidates as 2025 UTME registration continues

The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, has issued a stern warning to underage students registering for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), stating that they could face penalties.

Speaking during an inspection of registration centres in Lagos, Oloyede disclosed that out of the 780,202 candidates registered so far, 11,512 were underage. While JAMB allows exceptionally gifted students below the age of 16 to sit for the exam, he noted that many are now exploiting this exception.

He cautioned that underage candidates who go ahead with the registration risk losing their money due to the penalties JAMB will introduce.

Meanwhile, Oloyede confirmed that the registration process has been progressing smoothly, with no plans to extend the deadline. According to him, JAMB initially projected registering 60,000 candidates daily, but the numbers have exceeded expectations, with between 80,000 to 100,000 candidates now registering each day.

So far, over 782,000 candidates have completed their registration, and JAMB anticipates the total number of applicants to reach about 2 million. Oloyede expressed confidence that the process will be completed within the five-week registration period.