By Felix Khanoba
The Federal Government and other major stakeholders in the Nigerian higher education sector have pegged the 2024/2025 admission cut-off marks for universities in the country at a minimum score of 140 in Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
A minimum cut-off point of 100 was also announced for polytechnics and Colleges of Education (CoEs).
Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, made this known at the 2024 Policy Meeting on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions in Abuja on Thursday.
Oloyede said that the policy meeting, chaired by Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman and attracted universities’ Vice Chancellors, polytechnics’ rectors, colleges of education provosts and registrars, was to streamline modalities for the conduct of the 2024 admission.
He said that no university, polytechnics and colleges of education must admit candidates less than the agreed minimum cut-off requirements, but added that each institution should only take in students according to their individual cut-off marks submitted to JAMB.
The AUTHORITY reports that most universities pegged their individual minimum cut-off marks at between 160 to 200.
Oloyode further said that institutions were also mandated to adhere strictly to their various admission requirement stipulated in the Central Admissions Processing Systems (CAPS) institutions.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Education has vowed to enforce a law mandating 18 years minimum admission age for entry into tertiary education institutions.
The minister, however, said the enforcement would commence after the 2025 UTME in order not to affect candidates who sat for this year’s exam, as they were not informed of the development before registering for the JAMB exam.
“Information has revealed that the enrolment of underage candidates is inflicting serious damage on the university and the education system, hence, the need for enforcement of extant rules.
“When I was monitoring the just concluded 2024 UTME, I was alarmed at the participation of a large number of obviously under-age candidates in the examination.
“This necessitated my comment on the need to enforce the extant provisions of the educational policies which made provision for nine years of basic education and three years of Senior Secondary Education before entry into tertiary institution.
“It is clear that a child who, as expected is enrolled in basic school at the age of six and having undergone 12 years of education would be around 18 years old when being enrolled in a tertiary institution,” he said.
