2026 UTME: JAMB to Fix Admission Cut-Off Marks Monday

2026 UTME: JAMB to Fix Admission Cut-Off Marks Monday

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that it will hold its 2026 Policy Meeting on Monday in Abuja, where key decisions on 2026 UTME cut-off marks and admission guidelines for tertiary institutions across Nigeria will be officially determined. In a statement issued on Sunday by its Public Communications Advisor, Fabian Benjamin, the board said the meeting will be chaired by the Minister of Education and will bring together key stakeholders in the education sector to agree on national admission policies for the 2026 exercise.

The meeting is expected to set the minimum cut-off marks for universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, alongside broader admission guidelines that will govern the 2026/2027 academic session. JAMB explained that the decisions taken will directly influence how millions of candidates who sat for the 2026 UTME are considered for admission across various institutions in the country.

JAMB also stated that the policy meeting will review and establish broader admission standards, including the determination of “minimum tolerable scores for admissions,” which serve as the national benchmark for entry into tertiary institutions. While the board provides the baseline, individual institutions are still allowed to set higher departmental requirements depending on the competitiveness of their courses.

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The board further confirmed that the 2026 Policy Meeting will host a delegation from Sierra Leone, led by the country’s Deputy Minister of Education, Mr. Sarjoh Aziz Kamara. The delegation will also include two vice-chancellors, including Prof. Edwin Momoh of Ernest Bai Koroma University. According to JAMB, the visiting team expressed interest in Nigeria’s centralized admission system, noting that it provides structured solutions to admission challenges experienced in their own country.

JAMB used the opportunity to reaffirm the importance of its centralized admission system, stressing that it remains essential for ensuring fairness, consistency, and standardisation in tertiary admissions across Nigeria. The board noted that the system helps streamline the admission process for millions of candidates while maintaining national academic standards.

The 2026 Policy Meeting is expected to produce key outcomes, including the approval of 2026 UTME cut-off marks, national admission guidelines for tertiary institutions, post-UTME screening frameworks, institutional admission quotas, and the official timetable for the 2026/2027 academic session. Once concluded, the decisions will officially mark the beginning of the new admission cycle across Nigerian tertiary institutions.

2026 UTME: JAMB to Fix Admission Cut-Off Marks Monday