Tunji Alausa, minister of education, says only 108 of about 39,000 underage candidates who sat the 2026 unified tertiary matriculation examination (UTME) passed the federal government’s screening for possible admission into tertiary institutions.
Alausa spoke in Abuja on Wednesday while receiving the two
highest-scoring candidates and six top-performing underage candidates in the
2026 UTME.
The candidates were presented to the minister by Segun Aina,
registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
Alausa said the successful candidates emerged after a
rigorous selection process that required applicants to demonstrate outstanding
academic performance and psychological, emotional and intellectual readiness
for university education.
He said the multi-stage screening exercise was designed to
ensure that opportunities for exceptionally gifted children to gain admission
did not come at the expense of their preparedness for the demands of higher
education.
According to him, 2,244,149 candidates registered for the
2026 UTME, while 2,174,396 sat the examination.
Of those who sat the examination, approximately 39,000 were
below the prescribed minimum admission age of 16 years.
Alausa said only 391 underage candidates scored at least 320
in the UTME, while further assessments reduced the number eligible for
consideration for admission 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
successful candidates.
“You are the ones that will change Nigeria and change the
world with your innovations.”
He said the government had a responsibility to identify
exceptional talents and nurture them into innovators capable of developing
solutions to Nigeria’s challenges and those of the wider world.
The minister maintained that the minimum admission age of 16
was not intended to frustrate academically gifted children or deny them
opportunities to advance, but to ensure that younger candidates possessed the
maturity required to cope with university life.
According to him, exceptional academic performance alone
could not determine admission into tertiary institutions, as university
education also demands emotional stability and the ability to navigate social
and intellectual challenges.
Alausa urged the successful candidates to view their
academic abilities as a responsibility to society rather than merely an
opportunity for early admission and personal advancement.
Linking the recognition of exceptional young talents to the
country’s broader development prospects, Alausa said Nigeria’s youthful
population was a major 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 percent of the
population was below 30.
Alausa said the federal government’s education reforms were
designed to expand opportunities for young Nigerians and strengthen the
country’s capacity to turn their potential into innovations and solutions that
could improve lives.
He congratulated the candidates on behalf of President Bola
Tinubu and the ministry, expressing confidence that their abilities could
translate into breakthroughs capable of benefiting millions of people.
At the event, the eight recognised candidates, including the
two highest scorers in the 2026 UTME, received plaques and certificates from
the minister.
Daniella Owoeye emerged as the highest-scoring candidate
with 372 marks, followed by Enwere Kingsley Ikenna with 370.
In May, Owoeye told TheCable how she used artificial
intelligence (AI) to summarise notes and joined several WhatsApp study groups
while preparing for the 2026 UTME.
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