The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has approved 150 and 100 as the minimum cut-off marks for admission into universities and polytechnics respectively for the 2025/2026 academic session.
The decision was announced on Tuesday during the 2025 Policy Meeting on Admissions held in Abuja, with heads of tertiary institutions and other key stakeholders in attendance.
According to JAMB, while 150 is the minimum benchmark for universities, candidates seeking admission into polytechnics, colleges of education, and colleges of agriculture must score at least 100. For colleges of nursing sciences, the cut-off mark was pegged at 140.
“The minimum admissible scores 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,” JAMB stated.
Registrar of the Board, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, who announced the figures, said they reflect a consensus by stakeholders in the tertiary education sector.
He added that institutions are at liberty to raise their cut-off marks above the approved minimum but cannot go below them.
Prof. Oloyede also disclosed that Lagos State University (LASU), University of Lagos (UNILAG), and University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) emerged as the most sought-after institutions by candidates in the 2025/2026 admission cycle.
The Board also revealed the top three scorers in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Okeke Chinedu Christian from Anambra State emerged as the highest scorer with 375 out of 400. He applied to study Mechanical Engineering at UNILAG.
He was followed by Ayuba Simon-Peter John from Gombe State who scored 374 and chose Afe Babalola University (ABUAD) for Mechanical Engineering.
The third top scorer, Jimoh Abdulmalik Olayinka from Kwara State, scored 373 and also selected UNILAG for the same course.
JAMB noted that the policy meeting signals the formal commencement of the 2025/2026 admission process into tertiary institutions across the country
However, certain institutions like the University of Ibadan, Pan-Atlantic University, and the University of Lagos, among others, set their benchmark at 200.
