JAMB Asks Varsities To Admit Candidates With 140 Minimum Score

By AmforGod J. Olisa

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has set the minimum cut-off marks for 2024 admissions: 140 for universities, and 100 for polytechnics and colleges of education. This decision was made during the annual policy meeting on admissions held in Abuja.

Out of 1,989,668 registered candidates for the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), 1,904,189 sat for the exam, with 80,810 absent. The meeting, chaired by Minister of Education Prof. Tahir Mamman, allowed institutions to set higher benchmarks but not lower than the approved minimum.

Initially, the minister had proposed 18 as the minimum age for university admission, but this was met with resistance. Following arguments led by the Vice Chancellor of Elizade University, Prof. Kayode Thadius Ijiadunola, the minimum age was adjusted to 16 for the current year, with plans to enforce the 18-year minimum starting from 2025.

The decision was influenced by the fact that students under 18 had already registered and passed the UTME. The policy meeting participants, including university vice-chancellors and registrars, supported the adjustment, leading to a resounding approval.

JAMB Registrar Prof. Is-haq Oloyede emphasized that while the policy change was practical for this year, the law still supports the 6-3-3-4 education system, implying a future enforcement of the 18-year minimum age requirement.