The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, in collaboration with Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts of higher institutions in the country, on Tuesday, pegged the minimum cut-off mark for admission into universities at 120.
They also adopted 100 as the minimum cut-off marks for admissions into polytechnics.
No higher institution is expected to go below these minimum cut-off marks.
The decision was unanimously reached by stakeholders at a combined policy meeting on admissions into universities, polytechnics and other higher institutions in Nigeria, held in Abuja on Tuesday.
This is against the 180 cut-off mark adopted last year.
The stakeholders also agreed that admission into first choice universities would close on October 15, while December 15 was set as the closure for second choice admission by institutions.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, said universities, with this decision, would not go below the minimum 120 cut-off points adopted by the meeting.
Prof. Oloyede called for the adoption of flexible cut-off marks for admission processes by higher institutions in the country.
He said: “What JAMB has done is to recommend. We will only determine the minimum, whatever you determine as your admission cut-off mark is your decision.
“The Senate and academic boards of universities should be allowed to determine their cut-off marks.
In his remarks, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, admitted that the Federal Government’s ban on post – UTME was a mistake.
The minister said the government banned the conduct of post-UTME because the examination had become an avenue for corruption in some higher institutions.
Adamu, who encouraged higher institutions to conduct aptitude tests for candidates seeking admission, pegged the fee for the test at N2,000.
He said: “I must restate this administration’s zero tolerance for corruption and zero tolerance for exploitation. Because in line with this and with the best intention that I announced the cancellation of the post UTME las year.
“At that time it had become an avenue for exploitation and it was a burden for many parents. However, following that cancellation, some institutions opted for SSCE and this led to faking and falsification of results and the inflation of grades and this led to reconsideration of the exercise.
“Among other reasons, this has now forced me to revisit the issue. Last year and I take full responsibility, I made a mistake. Now I am going to take back what I said. The decision to cancel post-UTME was a mistake.
“Rather what you should seem to do is to conduct an aptitude test and the fee from the exercise must not exceed N2,000 and the exercise itself must be corruption free.”
