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During the 2024 annual policy meeting on admissions, which
took place at the Body Benchers Headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, the National
Minimum Tolerable UTME Score (NTMUS), commonly referred to as the cut-off mark,
for 2024 admission into tertiary institutions was established.
Following the successful administration of the 2024 Unified
Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), a meeting was convened. A noteworthy
1,989,668 candidates registered for this year’s UTME.
Out of the 1,989,668 candidates who registered for the
Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), 80,810 were absent, while
1,904,189 sat for the examination within a six-day period.
The policy meeting, led by the Minister of Education,
Professor Tahir Mamman, resulted in the following decisions based on the
recommendations provided by the heads of institutions.
The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation
Board (JAMB), Professor Is-haq Oloyede, made an announcement regarding the
cutoff marks for admission into tertiary institutions. He clarified that
individual institutions have the autonomy to set their minimum benchmark higher
than the approved cutoff marks determined at the policy meeting. However, they
are not permitted to lower the cutoff marks below the approved levels for their
respective institutions.
On Admission Age
In reference to the recent controversy surrounding the
proposed benchmark for entry into tertiary institutions, the Minister of
Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, has reconsidered and reversed his initial
decision.
The new admissions policy, which restricts enrollment to
candidates who have reached the age of 18, will go into effect in 2025, as per
the recent announcement.
In order to achieve this goal, the minister suggested that
heads of tertiary institutions be granted the authority to admit candidates who
are 16 years of age.
The minister was compelled to acquiesce due to the
compelling argument that students below the age of 18 had already successfully
registered, participated in, and passed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation
Examination (UTME) and were eagerly anticipating admission.
In the recent policy meeting, Vice Chancellor of Elizade
University, Professor Kayode Thadius Ijiadunola, received overwhelming support
from other heads, registrars, and admissions officers in proposing a minimum
age requirement of 16 for admission into tertiary institutions.
He said, “What happens to those who have written this year’s
exams and passed their exams? We reject 18 years as the minimum age requirement
and are proposing 16 years.”
During the meeting, there was an overwhelming consensus in
favor of establishing a minimum age requirement of 16 years. However, the
Registrar of JAMB, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, raised a pertinent question
regarding the rush among parents and candidates to enroll in the program.
Oloyede said: “The only point is they have taken
examinations and at that time they were not told or aware and therefore if we
want to enforce it, it should be from subsequent years.”
The minister in response had said, “I can work with that but
I want to remind you of one thing, even that argument cannot stand if we want
to go by the law which states 6-3-3-4 as our system of education.
“It won’t stand, but for practical reasons, for this year, I
will allow it to stand.”
Reiterating the minister’s decision amidst a resounding
applause, Prof Oloyede added, “We thank the minister for conceding but from
next year we will enforce it.”
Earlier, during his address as the chairman of the 2024
Joint Admissions Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) policy meeting on Education held
on Thursday in Abuja, the minister advocated for the implementation of 18 years
as the new minimum age requirement for admission to tertiary institutions in
the country.
Following the announcement made by the Minister of
Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, the stakeholders representing various
tertiary institutions across the nation expressed strong objections, leading to
a disruptive and chaotic session.
The minister who was unable to proceed with his address as a
result of the uproar, had asked “Are we together?”
However, the stakeholders responded with a resounding “No!”
The minister, who appeared unfazed by the recent
developments, proceeded with his speech. He attempted to justify the decision
to set the new admission benchmark at 18.
The meeting with policymakers descended into chaos until the
registrar of JAMB, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, intervened and implored everyone
to focus.
The annual education policy meeting convened to formally
approve the commencement of admissions for tertiary institutions across the
nation.