FG Fixes 150 Cut-Off Mark: Is Nigeria’s Education System Declining?

The Federal Government has approved 150 as the minimum admission cut-off mark for universities across Nigeria for the 2026 academic session. The decision was announced by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, during the 2026 admission policy meeting organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Abuja.

Under the new guidelines, universities both public and private are expected to admit candidates who score at least 150 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). The government also approved 150 as the minimum benchmark for colleges of nursing, while polytechnics and colleges of education were pegged at 100.

The policy meeting also resolved that institutions conducting screening exercises must not charge candidates above N2,000. In addition, conventional universities and colleges of education are expected to maintain a 60:40 admission ratio between science-based and arts courses, while specialised universities and polytechnics will operate an 80:20 ratio.

JAMB explained that institutions are free to set higher admission requirements but must not admit candidates below the approved national benchmark. The annual policy meeting is usually held after the UTME to determine admission guidelines for tertiary institutions across the country.

Is Nigeria’s Education System Declining?

The latest decision by JAMB and education stakeholders has reignited conversations about the state of Nigeria’s education system and whether academic standards are gradually declining.

In 2024, JAMB approved 140 as the minimum cut-off mark for universities, while polytechnics and colleges of education were fixed at 100.

By 2025, the minimum benchmark for university admissions increased slightly to 150, while colleges of nursing were placed at 140 and polytechnics remained at 100.

For 2026, the Federal Government retained the university cut-off mark at 150 and also raised colleges of nursing to 150. Polytechnics and colleges of education remained at 100.

Although the benchmark increased from 140 in 2024 to 150 in 2025 and 2026, many Nigerians have continued to question whether the broader education system is improving or declining, especially in relation to student performance, infrastructure, learning quality, and employability.

Concerns about Nigeria’s education sector have persisted for years due to recurring strikes in public universities, inadequate funding, shortage of learning facilities, overcrowded classrooms, poor teacher welfare, and rising examination malpractice cases.

The education sector has also witnessed growing debates over UTME performance levels. In recent years, JAMB statistics have repeatedly shown that a large number of candidates score below 200 in the examinations, leading to concerns about foundational learning challenges at the secondary school level.

The conversation intensified after the 2025 UTME results, where many candidates reportedly recorded low scores nationwide, prompting debates about learning quality, curriculum standards, and examination preparedness.

At the same time, universities continue to face challenges relating to accreditation, inadequate laboratories, poor research funding, unstable academic calendars, and graduate unemployment.

Despite these concerns, education authorities maintain that the approved cut-off marks are only minimum benchmarks and that institutions remain free to adopt higher standards for competitive courses such as medicine, law, pharmacy, and engineering.

JAMB has consistently stated that the admission benchmarks are agreed upon collectively by vice-chancellors, rectors, provosts, and education stakeholders during policy meetings.