The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has officially set 150 as the minimum cut-off mark for university admissions for the 2026/2027 academic session.
Stakeholders reached this decision on Monday, May 11, 2026, during the annual Policy Meeting on Admissions held in Abuja.
The board also fixed the minimum benchmark for Colleges of Nursing at 150, while Polytechnics will require a minimum score of 100.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, presided over the session alongside vice-chancellors and heads of tertiary institutions.
While these figures serve as national minimums, individual universities still retain the power to set higher requirements for competitive courses like Medicine or Law.
Education and Agriculture Candidates Get UTME Exemption
In a significant policy shift, Alausa announced that candidates applying for Education programmes and non-engineering Agriculture courses are now exempt from the UTME.
This exemption applies to those seeking a National Certificate in Education (NCE) who already possess at least four credit passes. This strategy seeks to boost enrollment in sectors vital to national development.
“In recognition of this reality, the Federal Ministry of Education… has taken a deliberate policy position. Accordingly, candidates seeking admission into the NCE programme… will no longer be required to sit for the UTME,” Alausa stated.
However, the Minister clarified that these students must still register with JAMB. Their credentials will undergo strict verification through the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) before they receive official admission letters.
Federal Government Bans Admissions Outside CAPS
The Minister issued a stern warning to institutions attempting to bypass official channels. He declared that any admission not processed through the CAPS platform is entirely illegal.
Alausa explained that the era of parallel admission systems is over. He noted that such practices often hurt deserving candidates and damage the integrity of Nigeria’s education framework.
“Let me reiterate, without equivocation, that admissions conducted outside this framework are illegal and will not be recognised,” Alausa said.
Furthermore, the Minister confirmed that the government has retained 16 years as the minimum age for entry into tertiary institutions.
He warned that institutions violating these approved procedures would face severe sanctions.
“The era in which institutions operated parallel admission systems, often to the detriment of deserving candidates, must come to an end,” he added.
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