The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), in collaboration with tertiary education stakeholders across the country, has approved a new set of minimum cut-off scores for the 2024/2025 admissions cycle. At the annual policy meeting held on Tuesday in Abuja, 150 was adopted as the National Minimum Tolerable UTME Score (NTMUS) for admission into Nigerian universities, while 100 was retained for polytechnics and colleges of education. For colleges of nursing, the meeting adopted a slightly higher benchmark of 140.

This new decision marks a slight upward adjustment from last year’s benchmark, where 140 was approved for universities. The cut-off for polytechnics and colleges of education remains unchanged.

The cut-off scores, though minimum national tolerable standards, still allow individual institutions to set higher admission requirements based on their discretion and internal admission policies.

The decision was reached through a democratic process involving votes from institutional leaders. Vice-Chancellors of universities voted on the university benchmark, Rectors voted for polytechnics, and Provosts for colleges of education.

While the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, and JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, advocated for a minimum university score of 160 to improve academic standards, the proposal failed to gain sufficient traction among stakeholders.

During deliberations, proposals ranged from 130 to 160. The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, proposed 150, which ultimately received overwhelming support and was adopted as the official cut-off for universities. Conversely, the Vice-Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Prof. Ayodeji Agboola, who proposed 160, received minimal backing from his peers.

In his closing remarks, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Oloyede, emphasized that institutions that had initially planned lower thresholds must now adjust their cut-off points upward in line with the new national standards.

“Every institution should maintain its own approved minimum, but no institution can go below what has been collectively adopted.”