The Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB) has set 150 as the minimum cut-off mark for university admission for the 2026/27 academic session.
The decision was made at the board’s policy meeting in Abuja on Monday, following a vote by the vice-chancellors present.
Colleges of nursing will also use 150 as the cut-off, while polytechnics will admit candidates with a minimum score of 100 out of 400.
WITHIN NIGERIA spoke with education experts and consultants to get their take on the proposed 2026/2027 university admission cut-off mark.
Isaac Joseph-Fagbemi, an educational consultant, while speaking to WITHIN NIGERIA said the decision to set the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination cut-off mark at 150 is not a standalone policy choice, but a symptom of Nigeria’s failing education system.
Joseph-Fagbemi argued that chronic underfunding, teacher shortages, and widespread examination malpractice have created an environment where students cannot be expected to perform well in national exams.
According to Joseph-Fagbemi, state governments prefer to fund white elephant infrastructural projects than fund education.
“Many of our schools don’t even have enough teachers. And somehow, we expect our students to do well in national exams.”
He pointed to the widespread use of unqualified instructors in private schools, including National Youth Service Corps members with no teaching background assigned as subject teachers.
In his view, the 150 UTME cut-off is “the fruit of all of these wrongs.”
Joseph-Fagbemi also criticized state rankings based on NECO and WAEC results, alleging that some states inflated pass rates through coordinated malpractice.
He said principals are often tasked with delivering 90% pass rates despite lacking teachers and instructional materials, leading many schools to resort to cheating to meet targets.
“When these students now proceed to do exams that can’t be directly influenced by their Principals, they don’t perform well,” he said.
The shift to computer-based testing for UTME adds another barrier, he noted.
“Many students, particularly in rural areas, sit for a CBT exam without ever having used a computer. Power outages, fuel costs, and lack of access mean the only computer in some schools is in the principal’s office”.
“How do they practice when the only computer system is the one in the Principal’s office? These are the issues,” he said.
To reverse the trend, Joseph-Fagbemi called for increased government funding for schools, a push by private school owners to hire qualified teachers, an end to deploying untrained corps members as teachers, and a whistleblowing policy to curb exam malpractice.
Without these changes, he warned, university admissions could become dependent on connections rather than merit by 2040.
“Else, by 2040 – admissions into universities would be by referrals from community heads, politicians and religious leaders,” he said. “Hopefully, we don’t get to that point.”
Ajetomobi Samuel, a teacher and an educationist, told WITHIN NIGERIA that the score should be treated strictly as a national minimum.
Samuel, while arguing that the real challenge lies beyond the figure itself, noted that many universities already set higher cut-off marks for competitive programs.
“The real issue is not the score itself, but the quality of education, admission processes, and university standards,” Samuel stated.
He added that the reduction in the cut-off mark reflects the actual state of education in the country.
According to him, Nigeria can no longer ignore the decline in learning outcomes at all levels, compounded by what he described as inadequate government funding.
“We cannot continue to live in self-denial. Education currently in the country has nothing to write home about, and the government is helping them after failing to properly fund education across all levels in the country,” he said.
Samuel concluded that Nigeria’s education sector requires urgent and comprehensive reform.
“Our education needs a drastic surgery at the moment,” he said.
Sunday B. Owoborode, IT Expert and Data Analyst told WITHIN NIGERIA that there should be national reflection on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s recent 150 minimum cut-off mark for university admission and the reported zero registration entry benchmark for Education programmes.
Owoborode, while warning of possible long-term consequences for Nigeria’s education sector, said both policies carry significant implications for academic quality and public confidence in higher education.
Owoborode explained that the 150 cut-off mark functions as a national minimum benchmark and not an automatic admission score.
He noted that universities retain the right to set higher standards for competitive courses and can apply additional screening such as Post-UTME, O’Level grading, and departmental merit requirements.
In that sense, he said, the benchmark may help institutions with low application numbers fill spaces and expand access.
However, he cautioned that even with stricter internal standards, a low national benchmark creates a symbolic effect that can weaken the perception of academic excellence.
“Admission policy must not only create opportunities; it must also preserve confidence in the integrity of higher education,” he stated.
Owoborode described the proposed zero-entry benchmark for Education programmes as more troubling.
He said the move, intended to attract more candidates into teacher-training courses, risks sending the message that Education is a fallback for candidates who cannot meet minimum standards elsewhere.
“Teaching is one of the most strategic professions in any nation. Those who train children, shape values, and build future professionals should not be recruited through policies that diminish the dignity of the profession,” he said.
He warned that admitting poorly prepared candidates into Colleges of Education and university Education faculties without credible standards could produce underqualified teachers, weak classroom delivery, poor student outcomes, and rising examination malpractice.
According to him, the consequences may not be immediate but would be deep and lasting, including overcrowded teacher-training institutions, higher dropout rates, unemployable graduates, and weakened confidence in public education.
Rather than reducing standards to zero, Owoborode urged the government to introduce incentives to attract talented candidates into Education programmes.
He listed scholarships, bursaries, improved teacher salaries, guaranteed employment for qualified graduates, professional development opportunities, and public campaigns to restore the prestige of teaching as possible measures.
He concluded that while a 150 general admission benchmark can be defended as an access policy if institutions protect internal quality standards, a zero benchmark for Education programmes risks sacrificing the nation’s human capital.
“Access is important, but quality must remain non-negotiable. If we lower the gate too far for those who will teach the next generation, we may gain numbers today but lose excellence tomorrow,” Owoborode said.
