The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced key decisions following its 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions, setting the framework for the 2026/2027 tertiary admission exercise nationwide.
The annual meeting, held in Abuja and chaired by the Minister of Education, brought together vice-chancellors, rectors, provosts, and other stakeholders in the education sector to deliberate on admission guidelines and standards.
Cut-off Marks Approved
A major outcome of the meeting is the approval of the minimum admissible scores (cut-off marks) for admission into tertiary institutions:
• Universities: 150
• Colleges of Nursing: 150
• Polytechnics: 100
The board noted that these benchmarks represent the minimum thresholds, while individual institutions retain the autonomy to set higher cut-off marks for competitive courses such as Medicine, Law, and Engineering.
Retention of Admission Age
The meeting also reaffirmed that the minimum age for admission into tertiary institutions remains 16 years, in line with existing national education policy.
Exemption for Certain Programmes
In a significant policy shift, candidates seeking admission into Colleges of Education and some Agriculture programmes are now exempted from the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) requirement.
Institutional Flexibility
• JAMB emphasised that while the minimum scores are binding, institutions can:
• Fix higher cut-off marks based on course competitiveness
• Apply additional screening criteria (e.g., Post-UTME)
Maintain internal admission standards within national guidelines
This flexibility is aimed at preserving academic quality across institutions.
Commencement of Admission Process
The board stated that the outcomes of the policy meeting officially signal the commencement of the 2026/2027 admission exercise across universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
Stakeholder Participation
The meeting had in attendance key education regulators, including:
• National Universities Commission (NUC)
• National Board for Technical Education (NBTE)
• National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE)
as well as heads of tertiary institutions nationwide.
Background
The annual JAMB Policy Meeting serves as the highest decision-making platform on admissions into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, where stakeholders agree on uniform guidelines to ensure transparency, fairness, and standardisation.
