The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has drawn a agency line on requirements for the upcoming tutorial cycle. At its annual coverage assembly held Monday in Abuja, the board unveiled the benchmark scores and operational timelines that may govern tertiary admissions nationwide. The selections have an effect on tens of millions of candidates who sat for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Reduce-Off Marks: What Every Establishment Requires
After deliberations amongst key training stakeholders, college admission was pegged at a minimal rating of 150, a threshold that additionally applies to high schools of nursing. Then again, polytechnics and schools of agriculture had been assigned a decrease benchmark of 100.
Importantly, universities retain the discretion to demand scores greater than the nationwide minimal, relying on their very own admission standards. What they can not do, nevertheless, is go beneath it.
Schooling Minister Tunji Alausa, who presided over the assembly, burdened that the figures had been non-negotiable flooring, not solutions. He stated the cut-off marks “signify the minimal requirement for admission and should be strictly adopted,” including that “candidates should meet the set commonplace.”
The minister additionally took intention at admissions carried out exterior official channels. He declared that any admission not processed by way of JAMB’s Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) was illegal and would carry no official recognition. The registrar strengthened this, noting that sure establishments had continued issuing admission letters to candidates who had not been cleared by way of CAPS, a apply he stated had allowed lower-scoring candidates to achieve entry over higher-scoring ones. Eleven universities are at present dealing with courtroom proceedings over this very situation.
Admission Deadlines: A Class-by-Class Breakdown
Alongside the rating thresholds, the assembly produced agency calendar targets for every class of establishment. Authorities-owned universities should wrap up their admission processes by the tip of October 2026, whereas their privately owned counterparts have an additional month, with a November 30 cutoff. Additional down the calendar, polytechnics, monotechnics, and schools of training have till December 31 to finish their processes.
JAMB Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede was direct in regards to the penalties of lacking these home windows. He directed all establishments to “conduct their admission workout routines strictly throughout the authorised timelines,” warning that “as soon as the deadline for every class expires, any establishment that did not conclude its admission train would now not have entry to candidates for that session.”
Candidates Additionally Face a 4-Week Acceptance Window
The brand new framework locations obligations on candidates as nicely. As soon as a proposal is made, the clock begins ticking. Prof. Oloyede said that candidates “should settle for their admission affords inside 4 weeks,” and that “failure to take action throughout the stipulated interval would consequence within the withdrawal of these affords.” Past shedding the supply, he cautioned that “affected candidates might change into ineligible for additional consideration for admission in that session.”
On the problem of screening, establishments wishing to conduct post-UTME workout routines might achieve this, however expenses to candidates should not exceed ₦2,000. Establishments are additionally barred from requesting consequence paperwork independently, as JAMB will provide the info on to curb impersonation.
Taken collectively, the registrar described your entire framework as one designed to deliver “equity, transparency and well timed completion of admissions throughout all tertiary establishments within the nation.” With greater than 2.2 million candidates having registered for the 2026 UTME, the stakes for getting this course of proper have by no means been greater.
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