The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is set to convene its annual admission policy meeting on Monday, April 14, 2025, to decide the national cut-off marks for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). This highly anticipated meeting will involve heads of all Nigerian tertiary institutions—universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education—both public and private.
The outcome of this meeting will determine the National Minimum Tolerable UTME Score (NTMUS) for the 2025 admission cycle. These cut-off marks will serve as the benchmark for candidates seeking admission into various institutions across the country.
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Why the Policy Meeting Matters
Each institution typically proposes its preferred minimum UTME score for admission, but JAMB’s policy meeting ensures a national minimum score is agreed upon. This prevents any institution from admitting candidates below the jointly accepted benchmark.
In the 2024 admission cycle, the national minimum cut-off was set at 140 for universities, while polytechnics and colleges of education adopted 100. A similar structure is expected for this year, although adjustments may be made depending on consensus during the meeting.
The final decision is often reached through voting by heads of institutions in attendance. Once the NTMUS is confirmed, institutions with lower proposed thresholds are mandated to adjust their scores to meet the new standard.
Age Requirement Still in Focus
The age limit for university admission has been a controversial topic in recent years. In 2023, then Education Minister Tahir Mamman initially proposed 18 years as the minimum admission age, but following pushback from stakeholders, the age was adjusted to 16 for the 2024 cycle.
Now under the leadership of Minister Tunji Alausa, the directive remains that 16 years is the minimum age for tertiary admission in Nigeria, aligning with JAMB’s stance and the majority view of institutional heads.
The Role of CAPS in Admissions
JAMB’s Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) continues to manage the admission process across the country. While critics have argued that institutions should conduct their own entry exams, JAMB maintains that CAPS simply ranks and streamlines qualified applicants, giving institutions full control over who they admit.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has reiterated that CAPS was designed to promote merit-based admissions and eliminate favoritism. Institutions are required to upload their criteria into the platform, which then filters candidates based on UTME scores, O’Level results, and Post-UTME performance.
What to Expect Next
Students, parents, and stakeholders across the education sector are eagerly awaiting the outcomes of Monday’s policy meeting. Once the national cut-off points are revealed, institutions will begin the final stages of their 2025 admission process.
Stay tuned for updates as the policy meeting unfolds. JAMB is expected to release an official statement shortly after the meeting concludes.
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