JAMB has kept the university cut-off mark at 150 and announced fresh admission rules for the 2026 session.

The Federal Government has approved 150 as the minimum admission score for universities and colleges of nursing for the 2026 academic session, as education officials met in Abuja to agree new admission rules for tertiary institutions across Nigeria. Polytechnic applicants will need a minimum score of 100.

The decision was announced at the 2026 admission policy meeting organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, known as JAMB. The meeting brought together the Minister of Education, vice-chancellors, rectors, provosts and other education leaders to set the national admission benchmark for the new session.

In a post, JAMB said: “The Heads of Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria had unanimously agreed that the Minimum Admissible Scores for admissions into Universities should be 150, Colleges of Nursing, 150, and Polytechnics, 100.”

The board said institutions can still fix higher cut-off marks for their courses, but no school is allowed to admit candidates below the approved national benchmark. Officials also warned that admissions done outside JAMB’s Central Admissions Processing System, known as CAPS, will not be recognised.

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, also said the minimum admission age remains 16 years after consultations with education stakeholders. He said exceptions for gifted candidates would only be considered under strict rules.

The policy meeting also introduced fresh flexibility for candidates seeking admission into education programmes and some agriculture-related courses, as part of wider changes in the admission process.

Ademide Adebayo