During the 2023 policy meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian universities reached a consensus on setting 140 as the minimum admission benchmark for the upcoming 2023/2024 academic session. While universities have the freedom to determine their own individual cut-off marks, it was emphasized that no candidate scoring below the 140 benchmark will be admitted. Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, the JAMB registrar, made this announcement during the ongoing policy meeting in Abuja.
To provide some examples, the University of Jos proposed a cut-off mark of 180 for admissions, while the University of Ibadan, University of Benin, and University of Lagos proposed 200.
The Federal University of Technology suggested 180, among others. The Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos proposed the highest benchmark of 220, while approximately 15 universities, particularly those in the private sector, recommended lowering the benchmark to 120.
However, this suggestion was ultimately rejected.
According to Andrew Adejoh, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, the majority's voices have been acknowledged. The decision remains that for university admissions, the minimum benchmark score is set at 140, as agreed upon by most universities. In the case of polytechnics, the minimum benchmark score for admissions is 100, and Colleges of Education have also adopted the same benchmark of 100. More information will be provided later.
