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JAMB Raises 2025 University Admission Cut-Off Mark to 150, Reaffirms 16 as Minimum Age Requirement
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has approved 150 as the minimum cut-off mark for university admissions across Nigeria, raising the benchmark from last year’s 140. The board also reaffirmed that no candidate below the age of 16 will be admitted into any Nigerian tertiary institution, describing the age requirement as “non-negotiable.” a decisive move that will shape the 2025 tertiary admission cycle,
This development follows a stakeholders’ meeting involving heads of tertiary institutions nationwide, where minimum admissible scores were also set at 140 for colleges of nursing, and 100 for both polytechnics and colleges of education.
JAMB’s Director of Tertiary Education, Dr. Mary Alausa, who announced the resolutions, urged strict compliance across all institutions, warning against manipulation of age records or backdoor admissions outside the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS). “Institutions must stop looking the other way. The age policy is clear—sixteen is the floor, not a suggestion,” she said.
Dr. Alausa acknowledged that rare exemptions may apply for gifted minors in accelerated programmes, but stressed these cases must be thoroughly documented and justified.
The policy shift, particularly the increased university cut-off mark, is expected to tighten competition and may affect admission prospects for borderline candidates. It also sends a clear signal that JAMB is tightening the reins on transparency and compliance within the admissions space.
For the 2025 academic session, applicants are advised to prepare with the following thresholds in mind: 150 for universities, 140 for colleges of nursing, and 100 for polytechnics and colleges of education. Age-wise, candidates must be at least 16 years old by the time of admission, no exceptions without formal, documented grounds.
With these new rules now in effect, prospective students, parents, and school administrators must realign expectations and strategies. JAMB has drawn the line and it’s bold.
