Lagos Rejects JAMB’s 150 Cut-Off Mark for Its State-Owned University Admission

The Lagos State Government has rejected the 150 minimum cut-off mark approved by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for admission into universities, insisting that candidates seeking admission into state-owned institutions must score far above the benchmark.

The state government said none of its universities would admit candidates who scored below 185 in the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), describing the national minimum score as inadequate for institutions in Lagos.

Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Tolani Sule, made the position known during a ministerial press briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa as part of activities marking the third anniversary of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second term in office.

Sule argued that Lagos could not afford to lower its academic standards to align with states facing educational disadvantages.

“To us in Lagos State, the cut-off marks approved by JAMB look too low for our universities. None of our three universities is admitting any student who scored below 185 in the UTME,” he stated.

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The commissioner maintained that although JAMB’s decision may have been designed to accommodate candidates from different parts of the country, Lagos institutions must continue to uphold what he described as higher educational expectations.

“For JAMB to announce 150 as the cut-off mark out of the 400 obtainable marks in the UTME for this year’s admission seekers is very low,” Sule added.

JAMB had earlier approved 150 as the minimum benchmark for admission into universities during the 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions held in Abuja.

However, several universities across the country fixed higher institutional cut-off marks despite the national minimum benchmark announced by the examination body.

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According to the list released after the policy meeting, Lagos State University and Lagos State University of Science and Technology adopted 195 as their minimum scores, while Lagos State University of Education fixed 185.

The development means candidates seeking admission into Lagos-owned universities will still be required to meet the institutions’ internal admission benchmarks regardless of JAMB’s general minimum score.

The disagreement over the cut-off mark has further sparked conversations within the education sector on whether a uniform national benchmark should apply equally across states with varying educational standards and admission competitiveness.

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