New nationwide admission benchmarks set as stakeholders approve minimum UTME scores for 2025/2026 session
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced a fresh nationwide admission benchmark that will shape entry into tertiary institutions across Nigeria for the 2025/2026 academic session.
Under the new policy, candidates seeking admission into universities must score a minimum of 150 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), while polytechnics and colleges of education will admit candidates from 100 and above. Nursing colleges will require at least 140.
The decision was reached during the annual policy meeting in Abuja involving heads of tertiary institutions, education regulators, and key stakeholders, aimed at standardising admission processes across the country.
According to the board, the figures represent minimum thresholds, meaning institutions are still allowed to set higher cut-off marks depending on the competitiveness of their programmes. This move is expected to intensify competition for high-demand courses such as Medicine, Law, and Engineering.
The announcement has already sparked widespread debate among students and education stakeholders, with many arguing that the cut-off structure reflects both access expansion and ongoing concerns about academic standards in Nigeria’s tertiary system.