The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has set 150 as the minimum cut-off mark for admission into universities for the 2025/2026 academic session.
The decision was announced on Tuesday at the 2025 Policy Meeting on Admissions held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja.
According to the board, the cut-off mark for colleges of nursing sciences was pegged at 140, while 100 was approved for both polytechnics and colleges of education.
“The minimum admissible scores for admissions for the next academic session have been fixed at 150 for universities, 100 for polytechnics, 100 for colleges of education, and 140 for colleges of nursing sciences by the stakeholders (Heads of Tertiary Institutions),” JAMB wrote on its X handle.
JAMB also revealed the highest scorer in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) as Okeke Chinedu Christian from Anambra State, who secured a total of 375 out of a possible 400.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ish-aq Oloyede, made the disclosure during the policy meeting, stating that the top scorer chose the University of Lagos as his first choice to study Mechanical Engineering.
He was closely followed by Ayuba Simon-Peter John from Gombe State, who scored 374 and selected Afe Babalola University (ABUAD), also applying for Mechanical Engineering.
In third place was Jimoh Abdulmalik Olayinka from Kwara State, who scored 373 and equally chose the University of Lagos for the same course.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government of Nigeria has officially set the minimum admission age for entry into the nation’s tertiary institutions at 16 years old.
The minimum admission age directive was announced by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, on Tuesday during the ongoing Policy Meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Abuja.
Alausa emphatically stated that this age requirement is “not negotiable.”
He also issued a stern warning that any admission conducted outside of the Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) would be deemed illegal, and those found to be involved in such fraudulent admissions, including heads of institutions, would face prosecution.
This announcement solidifies a stance that has seen some back-and-forth discussions in the past.
There had been previous reports and debates about setting the minimum age at 18, but it appears the government has now firmly settled on 16.