A notable achievement of this year’s Policy meeting of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is the consensus on the minimum cut-off mark for admissions into tertiary institutions countrywide. While the meeting marked a concerted effort to harmonise and stabilise issues of admission, the nagging issues of autonomy and maintenance of education standards remain unresolved, with some stakeholders expressing concern about the continued necessity for JAMB’s intervention on admission.
The demand for autonomy by universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions again came to the fore at the 2025 stakeholders’ Policy Meeting, where university vice-chancellors and heads of polytechnics and colleges of education parleyed with the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board and the Federal Ministry of Education on 2025/2026 admissions. While consensus was forged by the parties on what the appropriate minimum cut-off mark was for 2025/26, there are issues of standards and the need for more autonomy for schools to decide their admissions.
However, the controversy over admission age seems to have been finally resolved, as the federal government, through the Federal Ministry of Education, pegged the minimum admission age for admission into tertiary institutions at 16 years. The issue had generated controversy following the previous 18-year stipulation, which many stakeholders disagreed with.
Disclosing the new age, the Minister of Education emphasised that the decision is aimed at aligning students’ cognitive development with the academic demands of higher education. “This policy decision reflects a balance between cognitive maturity and academic preparedness. 16 years is non-negotiable,” he said. He, however, acknowledged that exceptions could be made for gifted students who have advanced academically ahead of their age group. But such cases, he said, must be documented and justified. Many stakeholders believe that this position is more in tandem with international best practice.
Notably, JAMB and the stakeholders raised the cut-off mark from 140 in the previous admission year to 150 for universities, 140 for Colleges of Nursing and 100 for polytechnics and Colleges of Education, igniting hope, even though it raised some dust. This year’s higher benchmark is based on the need to maintain higher standards for the country’s tertiary institutions. To seek improvement in standards, the entry stage is a place to focus on. A careful look at JAMB’s cut-off requirements in recent years suggests a lowering of standards, even though individual institutions have introduced other layers of vetting to ensure excellence. The challenge is that only a handful of schools can stay far above the minimum cut-off. Others are tempted to make do with what they have.
