Jamb Fixes Cut-off Marks For Varsities, Polytechnics

By Segun Emmanuel

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and tertiary education stakeholders have approved "the National Minimum Tolerable UTME Score (NTMUS)," otherwise known as the cut-off mark for 2023 admission into the nation's universities.

The benchmarks of 140 for universities and 100 for polytechnics and colleges of education were arrived at during the 2023 annual policy meeting on admissions into tertiary institutions, which was held Abuja on Saturday.

The policy meeting, chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Andrew Adejoh, took the decision following recommendations by the heads of institutions

JAMB Registrar, Is-haq Oloyede, said the minimum benchmark is not a single-suit-fits-all for all institutions, noting that though the meeting decides the minimum point, "institutions have the liberty to raise their individual minimum points higher than the agreed benchmark."

Anything we decide here will become the minimum. What it means is that nobody can go below it," Mr Oloyede said.

Implication

This means that about fifteen private universities who had earlier chosen 120 and 130 as minimum points would have to increase their minimum points to at least 140.

Also, all polytechnics and colleges of education cannot admit students with less than 100 minimum score.

How cut-off points are set

All tertiary institutions have individually preferred minimum points by which they admit candidates. This desired minimum point is sent to JAMB ahead of the meeting.

While some universities set as high as 200, others set as low as 100 or 120 UTME points.

However, at the policy meeting, all university vice- chancellors in attendance, rectors of polytechnics and provosts of colleges of education debated a minimum benchmark for admission.

After that, the minimum benchmark agreed upon by the majority of stakeholders was adopted.