Nigerian Gov’t Makes U-Turn on Age Requirement for University Admissions, as JAMB Sets New Cut-Off Marks

Nigeria’s Education Minister, Professor Tahir Mamman, has revised his previous directive concerning the age eligibility for university admissions. 

Recall that Mamman announced that only candidates who were 18 years old or older could be admitted to tertiary institutions. 

However, during an ongoing policy meeting organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Abuja today, Thursday, July 18, 2024, he adjusted this stance following feedback from stakeholders.

During the Thursday meeting, Vanguard reports that stakeholders voiced their concerns, arguing that it was illogical to deny admission to 16-year-old students who had successfully passed the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exams and the JAMB Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). 

In response, Mamman conceded to the suggestions, agreeing that students aged 16 and above should be eligible for admission this year. The new age requirement of 18 will be implemented from next year onwards.

In addition to the age policy update, JAMB announced new cut-off marks for 2024 admissions. For universities, the cut-off mark has been set at 140, while polytechnics and colleges of education will have a cut-off mark of 100. 

These decisions were made during the 2024 annual policy meeting on admissions held at the Body Benchers Headquarters in Abuja.

The meeting, which followed the successful conduct of the 2024 UTME, saw the participation of key educational stakeholders. 

This year, 1,989,668 candidates registered for the UTME, with 80,810 absent, and 1,904,189 sitting for the examination over six days. 

The policy meeting was chaired by Professor Tahir Mamman, with JAMB Registrar Is-haq Oloyede announcing the cut-off marks. 

Oloyede emphasised that while institutions could set their own minimum benchmarks, they could not go below the nationally approved cut-off marks.