JAMB admission policy 2025 has been endorsed by stakeholders with new cut-off marks and stricter entry requirements, raising major concerns across Nigeria

The JAMB admission policy 2025 was formally adopted at a national policy meeting in Abuja with notable stakeholders such as vice chancellors, rectors, and provosts endorsing new guidelines for the 2025/2026 academic session.

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University admissions now require a minimum score of 150, while polytechnics will accept 100 and colleges of education 100 as well. Colleges of Nursing and Health Sciences are set at 140.

The decisions were taken during the annual Policy Meeting on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions and the National Tertiary Admissions Performance-Merit Award.

Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, chaired the session. Although he endorsed the collective outcome, he admitted concern over the low scores, arguing that they do not reflect the significant national investment in the education sector.

“I was not entirely comfortable with the cut-off scores, but it’s a democratic process,” he said.

Both the Minister and JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, revealed that they had initially advocated for higher benchmarks—160 for universities and at least 120 for polytechnics and colleges.

However, they were outvoted by the stakeholders present. The Minister clarified that the decision was not JAMB’s alone but rather a consensus among institutional heads. He advised critics to refrain from blaming JAMB for the outcome.

Professor Oloyede added that institutions are still free to set higher internal cut-off marks for their specific courses. However, no institution will be allowed to admit any candidate with a score below the national benchmark agreed upon during the policy meeting.

He stressed that all admissions must go through the Central Admission Processing System. “No institution is allowed to conduct admission outside CAPS. Offenders will face strict penalties,” he stated.

In another major shift, the minimum age for university admission was officially lowered from 18 to 16. Institutions have been ordered to comply with this decision.

The integration of the National Identification Number (NIN) remains mandatory. The move, according to the Minister, will curb issues like age falsification and impersonation in the system.

The event also celebrated high-performing candidates from the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. Christian Chinedu Okeke from Anambra scored 375 to emerge as the top candidate.

He was closely followed by Ayuba Simon-Peter John from Gombe with 374. Five others, including Jimoh Abdulmalik Olayinka from Kwara who scored 373, ranked just behind.

However, controversy trailed the announcement of the best candidate. Professor Oloyede disclosed that Christian Okeke is already a student of medicine at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and was recently expelled for poor academic performance.

“I contacted the Vice-Chancellor directly. He confirmed the expulsion during our phone conversation, although that detail was excluded from his written response,” said Oloyede.

JAMB has since contacted the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to prevent any future academic registration attempts by the candidate in question.

JAMB’s public communications advisor, Dr Fabian Benjamin, added further doubt. “We suspect something is amiss. The law prohibits dual matriculation.

His current records list him as being from Lagos, while another shows he is from the South-East. That is suspicious,” Benjamin said.

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He warned that the board would investigate fully and apply necessary sanctions to maintain the integrity of the admission process. The new JAMB admission policy 2025 has certainly sparked national interest and mixed reactions from education stakeholders and parents alike.