FG approves 150 cut-off mark for universities, nursing colleges

The Federal Government has approved 150 as the minimum admission cut-off mark for both public and private universities, as well as colleges of nursing across Nigeria.

The decision was announced by Tunji Alausa during the 2026 admission policy meeting involving education stakeholders, organised in Abuja by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

The government also fixed 100 as the minimum cut-off mark for polytechnics, warning that institutions admitting candidates below the approved benchmark would face sanctions.

According to the resolutions reached at the meeting, tertiary institutions that choose to conduct screening exercises are permitted to do so but must not charge candidates more than N2,000.

The committee further approved a 60:40 admission ratio for conventional universities and colleges of education, requiring that admissions reflect 60 per cent science-based courses and 40 per cent arts courses.

For specialised universities and polytechnics, the admission ratio was fixed at 80:20.

At the 2025 admission policy meeting held in July, JAMB had also set 150 as the minimum cut-off mark for universities, while colleges of nursing were pegged at 140, and colleges of agriculture and education at 100.

Following the annual conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), JAMB convenes admission policy meetings where tertiary institutions propose cut-off marks for their categories, subject to deliberation and approval.