The federal government has approved 150 as the minimum admission cut-off mark for both public and private universities across Nigeria for the 2026 academic session.
Tunji Alausa, minister of education, announced the decision on Monday during the 2026 admission policy meeting organised in Abuja by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
The government also approved 150 as the minimum cut-off mark for colleges of nursing nationwide.
According to the resolutions reached at the meeting, polytechnics will admit candidates with a minimum score of 100, while institutions found admitting below the approved benchmark risk sanctions.
Stakeholders at the meeting further agreed that institutions wishing to conduct post-admission screening exercises would be allowed to do so, provided candidates are not charged more than ₦2,000.
On admission distribution, the committee adopted a 60:40 ratio for conventional universities and colleges of education, with 60 per cent of admissions expected to go to science-based courses and 40 per cent to arts courses.
For specialised universities and polytechnics, an 80:20 ratio was approved.
The latest decision maintains the same minimum cut-off mark approved for universities during the 2025 admission policy meeting held in July last year.
At the 2025 meeting, JAMB fixed the minimum cut-off marks at 150 for universities, 140 for colleges of nursing, and 100 each for colleges of agriculture and colleges of education.
The annual admission policy meeting is convened after the conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to determine admission guidelines and benchmarks for tertiary institutions across the country.
During the exercise, tertiary institutions present proposed cut-off marks for consideration before final approval by stakeholders and the federal government.
