Education Minister Makes U-Turn on Age Requirement for Tertiary Admission
In a recent policy meeting organized by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Abuja, Education Minister Prof Tahir Mamman clarified the admission policy for tertiary institutions.
Initially, he stated that only candidates who have attained 18 years would be eligible for admission.
However, after stakeholders expressed concerns that it was illogical to deny admission to 16-year-old students who have passed WAEC and JAMB, the minister accepted the suggestion to revise the policy.
As a result, applicants who are 16 years and above will be eligible for this year’s admission, while the 18-year requirement will apply from next year.
JAMB CUTOFF MARK
Additionally, JAMB has approved the 2024 cut-off mark for admission into tertiary institutions. The National Minimum Tolerable UTME Score (NTMUS), also known as the cut-off mark, is 140 for universities and 100 for polytechnics and colleges of education.
The decision was made during the 2024 annual policy meeting on admissions, which was held at the Body Benchers, Headquarters, Abuja.
The meeting was chaired by Minister of Education Professor Tahir Mamman and followed recommendations by heads of institutions.
JAMB Registrar Is-haq Oloyede announced the cut-off marks and explained that individual institutions can raise their minimum benchmark but cannot go below the approved marks.
A total of 1,989,668 candidates registered for this year’s UTME, with 80,810 absent and 1,904,189 sitting for the examination.
