The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the national minimum cut-off marks for admission into tertiary institutions for the 2025/2026 academic session. Following its annual policy meeting held on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Abuja, the board set the minimum cut-off score for admission into universities at 150.
The meeting, which was attended by heads of tertiary institutions, including vice-chancellors, rectors, and provosts, also established the minimum cut-off marks for other tertiary institutions. Polytechnics and colleges of education have been benchmarked at a minimum of 100, while colleges of nursing have their cut-off mark set at 140.
JAMB's Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, who presided over the meeting, clarified that these are the minimum scores to be considered for admission. He emphasized that individual institutions have the autonomy to set their own cut-off marks, provided they are not below the approved national minimum.
This means that while candidates who score 150 or above in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) are eligible for admission into a university, institutions are at liberty to raise their own benchmarks based on the competitiveness of their programs. For instance, several federal universities, such as the University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos, have historically set their general cut-off marks higher, often at 200 for most courses.
In addition to the cut-off marks, the policy meeting also officially pegged the minimum age for admission into any tertiary institution at 16 years.
The decisions from the policy meeting provide a clear framework for the commencement of the 2025/2026 admission process. Candidates are now advised to await the specific cut-off marks and post-UTME screening announcements from their respective chosen institutions.
