JAMB, stakeholders to decide 2025 admission cut-off mark, Tuesday

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and key stakeholders will on Tuesday determine the acceptable minimum admission standards (cut-off marks) for all tertiary institutions across Nigeria for the 2025 academic year.

This follows the successful conduct of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) by JAMB and the subsequent release of the results.

The cut-off marks will be decided at the JAMB 2025 Policy Meeting on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria and the National Tertiary Admissions Performance-Merit Awards (NATAP-M), which will be chaired by the Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa.

According to the Board’s Weekly Bulletin, the meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 8th July 2025, and will take place at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Expected attendees include the heads of regulatory agencies such as the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), as well as heads of tertiary institutions, their registrars and admission officers, representatives of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), and other partner organizations.

The policy meeting sets the direction for each year’s admission exercise by formulating admission guidelines.

The Board explained that during the meeting, critical stakeholders, in collaboration with JAMB, will set the minimum acceptable admission standards for all tertiary institutions in the country.

“During the session, the Registrar will present reports on the recently concluded 2025 UTME, including application statistics and candidates’ performance evaluation. The ongoing Direct Entry (DE) applications will also be reviewed, alongside key performance indicators that could inform the government’s admission policy directions,” the statement read.

“Additionally, the meeting will brief stakeholders on significant issues that arose during the previous year’s admission exercise.

“It will also examine the performance of candidates in the current year’s UTME to determine the minimum admissible score, in line with past practices.

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“Furthermore, the meeting will establish the admission requirements for the current year, formally commence the admission process, and address unresolved matters from the previous academic cycle. It will also assess stakeholders’ compliance with existing advisories and recommend necessary updates.

“In the same vein, the event will feature the unveiling of winners of the 2023/24 NATAP-M Awards, designed to recognize and reward tertiary institutions that exhibit excellence in adhering to admission guidelines. The award seeks to encourage healthy competition among institutions and promote compliance with established admission policies,” JAMB added.

Meanwhile, the Board has announced that it has delisted 130 Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres involved in Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) violations.

JAMB also declared its intention to withhold payments due to centres implicated in such infractions.

JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, made this known while receiving a delegation from one of the country’s leading telecom companies, MTN Nigeria, during a courtesy visit.

He expressed concern that some unscrupulous CBT centre operators had deliberately tampered with the Board’s monitoring devices by relocating routers and engaging in practices that compromised the integrity of the examination process.

In some cases, he said, centre operators went as far as covering CCTV lenses to conceal illegal activities during the exams.

The Registrar condemned such acts, emphasizing that the purpose of CCTV installation is to monitor, record, and ensure transparency during examinations. He asserted that any centre the Board cannot monitor will not be compensated, as a deterrent to future offenders.

Prof. Oloyede further explained that some centres deactivated their SIM cards, moved routers to unauthorized locations, or changed assigned IP addresses—then falsely blamed service providers for poor connectivity.

He stressed that curbing examination malpractice requires collective effort, especially if Nigeria is to win the battle against this persistent threat.

Addressing the MTN delegation on the challenges encountered during the release of the 2025 UTME results, he noted that some issues stemmed from sophisticated technological fraud, some of which have been traced and the culprits apprehended.

He cited photo blending and fingerprint irregularities as new methods being used to cheat, and urged MTN to join JAMB’s efforts to curb such malpractices.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss issues related to underage SIM registration, “Keep My Number” customized SIM services, and other telecom-related matters, with a call for improved service delivery to the Board.

The Registrar revealed that at least 130 CBT centres would be delisted for their involvement in these violations.

Earlier, Mr. Ohwofasa Obazenu, Acting General Manager, Regional Operations (North-West), stated that the delegation visited in response to recent developments and to reaffirm MTN’s commitment to JAMB’s digital transformation efforts.

He commended JAMB for its achievements in fulfilling its mandate and expressed MTN’s willingness to strengthen the existing partnership.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE