The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has denied setting cut-off marks for admissions into higher institutions across the country.

In a statement posted on its official X account on Thursday, the Board dismissed reports that it had set 140 as cut-off marks for universities, and 100 for polytechnics respectively.

“There’s no such thing as ‘cut-off mark’ in the admission process to tertiary institutions in Nigeria, what’s obtainable is minimum tolerable score determinable by individual institutions,” it said.

The denial comes just one day after it was widely reported that the Board had pegged 140 as a cut-off mark for admission into universities, and 100 as the minimum cut-off point mark for admission into polytechnics and colleges of education.

The statement attributed to JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, quoted him as announcing the development in Abuja at the 2024 Policy meeting of the Board.

The meeting had in attendance the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, vice-chancellors, rectors and registrars of higher institutions, and other stakeholders.

Minimum Entry Age

At the meeting, the minister directed that admission to tertiary institutions should not be given to candidates under 18 years old.

Though the announcement elicited mixed reactions from vice-chancellors, rectors, and registrars present at the meeting, the minister decried the activities of some parents, who are pressuring their underage wards to get admission into tertiary institutions.

Mamman said that the 18-year benchmark is in line with the 6-3-3-4 system of education.

“JAMB is hereby instructed from admission this year to admit only eligible students. That is those who have attained 18 years by our laws,” the minister.

He insisted that his position was backed by Nigeria’s law guiding admissions into tertiary institutions. He said it shouldn’t require a statement from him for that to be taken into consideration by admission bodies.

“Our laws require students to be in school from six years – Yes, there are those who do that from five – and remain in primary school for six years, basic education for three years, and secondary school for three years… It doesn’t require a statement of the minister… we are only restating what is in the law,” he added.

Professor Mamman added that for those who will not be able to gain admission into tertiary institutions, the Ministry of Education is taking skills to pupils from primary school.