By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
MINIMMUM ADMISSION cut-off marks for universities and colleges of nursing in Nigeria have been fixed at 150 for the 2026 academic session following approval by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the decision was reached on Monday during the board’s 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions held in Abuja.
Minister of Education Tunji Alausa announced the approved benchmark at the meeting attended by vice chancellors, rectors, provosts and other stakeholders in the tertiary education sector.
He said the committee also approved 100 as the minimum cut off mark for polytechnics and warned that institutions admitting candidates below the approved benchmark would face sanctions.
Alausa explained that the newly approved benchmark means candidates seeking admission into universities across the country must score at least 150 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to qualify for consideration.
JAMB organises the annual policy meeting to determine admission guidelines and minimum entry requirements for universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and other tertiary institutions.
It was also agreed at the meeting that institutions willing to conduct screening for candidates could do so but must not charge above N2,000.
Further guidelines approved by the committee fixed a 60:40 admission ratio for conventional universities and colleges of education, requiring admissions to reflect 60 per cent science courses and 40 per cent arts courses.
The committee, however, approved an 80:20 ratio for specialised universities and polytechnics.
At the 2025 admission policy meeting held in July, JAMB fixed 150 as the minimum cut off mark for universities, while colleges of nursing were pegged at 140. Colleges of agriculture and colleges of education were both placed at 100.
Following the UTME each year, JAMB convenes the admission policy meeting to agree on student intake criteria for tertiary institutions.
At the meetings, institutions propose cut off marks for their categories before deliberation and approval by stakeholders.
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