JAMB Sets 150 As National University Admission Cut-off

JAMB Sets 150 As National University Admission Cut-off .
UI, UNILAG, Pan-Atlantic University maintain stricter 200 benchmark.
New private universities’ proposal for 120 was rejected by policy makers.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), in collaboration with vice-chancellors of Nigerian universities, has fixed 150 as the minimum national admission benchmark for universities for the 2025 academic session.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that this decision was reached on Tuesday, July 8, during the 2025 Policy Meeting on Admissions held in Abuja. It means that no candidate who scores below 150 in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) will be eligible for admission into any Nigerian university.

However, some elite institutions—including the University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, and Pan-Atlantic University—have decided to maintain a higher cut-off mark of 200, indicating more stringent entry requirements.

In contrast, some newer private universities proposed a much lower benchmark of 120, but their suggestions were overridden. JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, reportedly recommended 160 as a fair national minimum, but consensus among university heads settled at 150.

The policy meeting also involved deliberations on broader admission issues, institutional autonomy, compliance with CAPS (Central Admissions Processing System), and quality assurance.

This development comes as JAMB continues to tighten regulations to curb backdoor admissions and ensure fairness in the tertiary education sector. The new benchmark serves as a national standard, though institutions still reserve the right to set higher internal scores as long as they do not fall below the approved baseline.