UTME: JAMB Retains 150 as University Admission Cut Off Mark

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has retained 150 as the minimum cut-off mark for admission into Nigerian universities for the 2026/27 academic session.

The decision was announced on Monday during the board’s annual policy meeting on admissions held in Abuja, where key stakeholders in the education sector gathered to deliberate on admission guidelines for tertiary institutions across the country.

According to JAMB, the approved benchmark was adopted following consultations and a voting process involving vice-chancellors and heads of tertiary institutions present at the meeting.

Under the new arrangement, universities across Nigeria are expected to admit candidates who score a minimum of 150 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The board also approved 150 as the minimum admissible score for Colleges of Nursing, while polytechnics will admit candidates with a minimum score of 100.

The policy meeting, which is organised annually by JAMB, serves as a platform for education stakeholders to determine admission procedures, benchmark scores, and other requirements for the upcoming academic session.

The cut-off marks announced by JAMB represent the minimum benchmark for admissions, although individual institutions are permitted to set higher requirements depending on the competitiveness of their programmes.

The board explained that the benchmarks were agreed upon after extensive deliberations aimed at balancing access to tertiary education with the need to maintain academic standards.

The announcement comes amid ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s admission system, including recent decisions to exempt some candidates seeking admission into education and agriculture-related programmes from sitting the UTME under specific conditions.

In recent years, universities offering highly competitive courses such as Medicine, Law, Pharmacy, and Engineering have typically adopted admission benchmarks far above the minimum approved by JAMB.

Candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions for the 2026/27 session are expected to begin processing their applications in line with the newly approved guidelines.