The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has set the cut-off marks for 2024 admissions: 140 for universities and 100 for polytechnics and colleges of education.
This decision was made at the 2024 annual policy meeting on admissions held at the Body of Benchers, Headquarters, Abuja, following the successful conduct of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Out of 1,989,668 registered candidates, 1,904,189 took the exam, with 80,810 absent. The meeting, chaired by the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, adopted the cut-off marks based on recommendations from institution heads. JAMB Registrar Is-haq Oloyede stated that institutions could set higher benchmarks but not lower than those approved.
In response to protests against the decision to set the minimum age for tertiary admission at 18, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has postponed this requirement to 2025. For now, candidates as young as 16 can be admitted. This change came after arguments that students under 18 had already registered for and passed the UTME, and it was impractical to exclude them this year. The proposal to allow 16-year-olds, led by Prof. Kayode Thadius Ijiadunola of Elizade University, received widespread support.
Despite the Minister’s initial insistence on enforcing the 18-year minimum age, he conceded for this year, citing practical reasons. The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, noted that the enforcement of the 18-year rule would begin in subsequent years.
The policy meeting, an annual event, marks the start of admissions into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. The Minister’s announcement of the 18-year minimum age was met with resistance from stakeholders, leading to a heated session. Order was eventually restored by Prof. Oloyede, allowing the meeting to proceed.