Applaud Admission Age Reduction

LAGOS – The decision of the Joint Admis­sion and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to peg the admission cut-off point for universities at 150 has stirred some disquiet among Nige­rians. Reason: The mark is too low to inspire serious preparation and bring out the best in candidates.

JAMB, at its annual policy meet­ing on admissions into tertiary in­stitutions held in Abuja on Tuesday, also adopted 100 for polytechnics and Colleges of Education, leaving that of Colleges of Nursing at 140.

According to the Board, the deci­sion was for 2025/2026 academic ses­sion.

In another surprising decision at the meeting, JAMB also slashed the admission age from 18 to 16, thus ac­commodating younger admission seekers.

Dr Tunde Elebute, a private school proprietor in Lagos, in his reaction, told Sunday Independent that such low targets discourage hard work.

 He said: “This is evidence that our children are no lon­ger focusing on burning the midnight candle for excellent results.

“Their attention have been drawn away by social media. Some people started saying “Education is a scam”. Can you see the results?

“If children scored so low, what can JAMB officials do? Students must be given ad­missions. But, let us hope as children grow older in the higher institutions, they will begin to appreciate the neces­sity to study hard for excellent results.

“Government at all levels should declare an emergency in our education industry. There should be summits, seminars, jingles on radio, television and social media that will rebirth the interests of our children in education.

“Of course, we should make our curriculum to give room for practicals.”

Dr Benneth Eze, a lecturer in one of the nation’s private universities, who also spoke to Sunday Independent, stated: “JAMB and tertiary educa­tion stakeholders have pegged the cut-off point for university admission at 150, which is an increase over last year’s figure of 140.

“Nevertheless, I strongly believe that the cut-off point for universities should not be less than 45% of the to­tal score of 400, which will amount to 180.

“Lowering the cut-off mark tends to adversely af­fect the quality of graduates, as a result of a decline in the quality of students admitted.

“Therefore, a cut-off point of 180 would have been more appropriate for the universi­ties. It is important to state that JAMB’s policy is such that universities are at liber­ty to fix higher cut-off points.

“On the issue of the admit­table age that has been pegged at 16 years, I think that it is a good idea, as it is necessary to strike a balance between maturity and academic pre­paredness.

“Admitting students below 16 could present challenges in terms of their maturity and ability to cope with the rigours of university life and academic expectations.”

Dr Victor Mathew, a cler­ic and security expert is the Executive Director, Kingdom Advocacy Network (KAN), stated: “I strongly believe 150 as a cut off point for entry into universities is low, this I believe is a serious lowering of educational standards.

“Educational excellence cannot be attained with such a lowered standard. The issue should be revisited and that government policy reversed.

“When the entry bar is so low, the unintended conse­quences is the lack of strive by students to study very hard and excel.

“With a low entry bar, the end products at graduation will also be below average.

“This policy is a backward policy just to accommodate educationally disadvantaged states who have refused to learn and upgrade their edu­cational status.

“They are dragging those who want to excel with this retrogressive below the bar policy.

“On the issue of admission age being reduced to 16 years, I am in support of this policy.

This will make provisions for exceptional students to gain admissions and pursue their academic careers.

“Some very brilliant kids skip classes and should be allowed to gain admissions at 16.

“Though the law is 18, to be regarded as being able to make and take decisions, 16 should be allowed to pursue higher education.

“In summary, the policy of 150 as cut off mark should be revised and at least be left at its former figure and the entry age of 16 be allowed to stay.”

Utase Joseph Utase, educa­tion consultant, stated: “The reduction of JAMB’s cut-off mark to 150 and the admis­sion age to 16 sparks mixed reactions.

“While it may widen access to tertiary education and re­flect the realities of student performance, it raises con­cerns about lowering academ­ic standards.

“A lower benchmark may compromise the quality of university entrants, poten­tially affecting educational excellence.

“Additionally, admitting younger candidates may chal­lenge their emotional and in­tellectual readiness for higher education.

“For excellence to be main­tained, universities must strengthen internal screening processes and provide strong academic and emotional sup­port systems.

“Accessibility should not come at the expense of qual­ity and readiness.”

Bishop Herbert Ekechuk­wu, an economist and public affairs commentator, stated, “Last Tuesday, the Joint Ad­mission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) took a number decisions concerning admis­sions into tertiary institutions in Nigeria, including admis­sions cutoff marks for the following categories;

University minimum cut­off mark of 150, a 10 marks increase from what it was last year.

Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, 100 marks and Colleges of Nursing 140 marks. The minimum age for admission is now maintained at 16 years

“This is an interesting deci­sion. Although the marks are very, very low, it represents the reality on the ground. These days, it used to be 200.

“Well, it has been said that examination is not the true test off knowledge. High cut-off mark will make JAMB a disqualifying board to higher learning, instead of an admis­sions board.

“In admission into Amer­ican universities, you only need your Secondary School Certificate and Test of En­glish as Foreign Language (TOEFL). Before JAMB was set up, admissions were based on a student’s Second­ary School Certificate and interview with the respective university.

“Our people going to America to study only take the TOEFL. With the 6-3-3-4 system of education at the

secondary school level, the three aspects of learning are covered; namely, Cognitive, Psychomotor and Affective Domain, hence should pro­vide a more learning process.

“On the issue of admis­sion age, the Board retained the previous limit of 16 years. The standard is okay since the majority of students complete their secondary school educa­tion at 16 years.

“So, the July meeting of stakeholders in education was indeed very fruitful and impactful. This will enable many candidates to gain ad­mission.”