The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has retained 150 as the minimum cut-off mark for admission into Nigerian universities for the 2026/2027 academic session, maintaining the benchmark adopted last year despite widespread criticism from stakeholders who argued that the score was too low.
The decision was announced on Monday during JAMB’s annual policy meeting held in Abuja, where vice-chancellors and heads of tertiary institutions across the country met to deliberate on admission guidelines for the new academic session.
According to the board, the cut-off mark, officially referred to as the National Minimum Tolerable UTME Score, means that no university in the country is permitted to admit candidates who score below 150 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME.
JAMB also approved 150 as the minimum score for colleges of nursing sciences, while polytechnics and similar institutions were pegged at 100 out of the maximum obtainable 400 marks.
The board, however, clarified that tertiary institutions retain the right to set higher admission benchmarks depending on the competitiveness of their programmes and institutional requirements.
The announcement comes amid ongoing debates over admission standards in the nation’s education sector. When the same benchmark was introduced last year, many education stakeholders, parents and observers expressed concern that lowering the university cut-off to 150 could affect academic quality and standards in higher institutions.
During the policy meeting, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s position on the minimum age requirement for tertiary institution admission, stating that candidates must be at least 16 years old before gaining admission.
Alausa said the government arrived at the decision after extensive consultations and policy reviews aimed at balancing inclusiveness with academic preparedness.
According to him, while exceptionally gifted students may exist, such cases would only be considered under strict and clearly defined guidelines to preserve the integrity of the admission process.
The minister also warned institutions against conducting admissions outside JAMB’s Central Admissions Processing System, CAPS, stressing that such admissions remain illegal and would not be recognised by the Federal Government.
He reiterated that all tertiary institutions must strictly comply with the centralised admission system to ensure transparency, accountability and uniformity in the admission process nationwide.
The development comes barely a day after the Federal Government announced the removal of the UTME requirement for admission into National Certificate in Education, NCE, programmes for candidates with the required four credit passes, a move aimed at encouraging more students to enrol in teacher education programmes.
Education stakeholders are expected to continue discussions over the appropriateness of the cut-off marks as institutions prepare to commence admission exercises for the 2026/2027 academic session.
