The Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian universities who were at the 2023 policy meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, reached a consensus that the minimum admission benchmark for the 2023/2024 academic session would be set at 140.
Although individual universities have the freedom to determine their own cut-off marks, it was emphasized that no university would be permitted to admit any candidate scoring below 140.
Professor Ishaq Oloyede, the registrar of JAMB, made this announcement at the ongoing 2023 policy meeting in Abuja.
For instance, 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 proposed 180, among others.
On the other hand, the Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos suggested the highest benchmark of 220. Approximately 15 universities, particularly those in the private sector, recommended lowering the benchmark to 120, but this proposal was rejected.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Andrew Adejoh, said, “We have heard the voices of the majority. Most of the universities have agreed and the decision stands that 140 is the minimum benchmark for university admissions.”
For the polytechnics, the minimum benchmark score was 100 for admissions, while Colleges of Education adopted the benchmark of 100 for admissions.
