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JAMB okays new cut-off marks for varsities, others

By Kanayo Umeh, Abuja
15 July 2015   |   12:20 am
JAMB and other stakeholders in the tertiary education sector have pegged the cut-off marks for 2015 admissions into universities at 180, while polytechnics and colleges of education were placed at 150.
Dibu-Ojerinde

Ojerinde

Federal Government in consultation with the Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB) and other stakeholders in the tertiary education sector have pegged the cut-off marks for 2015 admissions into universities at 180, while polytechnics and colleges of education were placed at 150.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State University (LASU) has announced a new timetable for the 2014/2015 first semester examination, which had earlier been postponed, due to the students’ failure to register online for their courses and the inability of the institution’s Senate to meet and ratify the academic calendar.

The cut off points were arrived at yesterday, after the 6th Combined Policy Meeting on Admissions to Degree, Nigeria Certificate in Education and National Diploma Awarding Institutions held at the National Universities Commission (NUC).

The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Dibu Ojerinde, in his presentation in which he gave a statistical run down of the 2015 UTME cumulative performance stated that a total number of 455,639 candidates which represented about 30.88 percent of applicants that sat for the examination scored 200 and above

He noted that 931,559 candidates, which represent 66.13 percent of total applicants scored 180 and above, while 122,091 (8.27 percent) scored below 160.

Giving the statistical run down of candidates’ preference for tertiary education, he said after the conduct of the 2015 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), candidates who applied for degree awarding institutions or universities totalled 1,436,867 representing 97.8 percent, NCE applicants totalled 18,341 representing 1.24 percent, ND a paltry 20,392 representing 1.38 percent, while NID had just 35.

Ojerinde wondered while Nigeria’s educational system has consistently failed to embrace technical education in its quest for industrialization.

He stated that about 2,581 irregularities were recorded during the conduct of the examination, while adding that only 100 cases of impersonation were recorded. “JAMB has adopted modern technology for greater efficiency in her operation since 2007,” he said.

Speaking further, he explained that University of Ilorin received the highest application with 105,035 candidates, while University of Benin and Nnamdi Azikiwe University came second and third respectively.

Declaring the meeting open, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Dr. MacJohn Nwaobila, disclosed that the introduction of computer-based test by the board has changed the face of public examination in the country.

“This measure has changed the face of the conduct of public examination in Nigeria and has come to stay. JAMB is today recognized as one of the most active parastatals of the Federal Ministry of Education,” he said.

The LASU’s announcement of new examination date, made at the weekend, is coming on the heels of last Thursday’s protest by the students who barricaded the Lagos/Badagry expressway to register their displeasure over the postponement.

According to the academic calendar ratified by the university’s Senate at its emergency meeting held at the weekend, the first semester examination will now commence on Wednesday July 25 and end on Tuesday August 4, after the celebration of the Eid-el-Fitri. The semester would end on August 25.

The second semester has also been scheduled to begin on August 31 and end on December 29, with examination fixed for between November 23 and December 4.

The university authority had, last week, adduced two fundamental reasons for its decision to postpone the examination. It announced, in a statement, that the statutory ratification of the academic calendar by the Senate, which was needed to give the exercise the required legal backing could not be done due to the blockade of the Senate building since March 16, by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Universities (SSANU), as a result of which the Senate members could not meet.

Besides, the university authority said the non-payment of school fees and registration online by many students, despite several appeals, had also made the production of the examination dockets impossible.

8 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    When a student does an exams and out of 400 we say the average pass mark is 180. I really do not understand. It’s is either the exams are too hard for students or the students are all poor academically. Which ever way we see it the drivers of our academic sector should be ashamed at this

    • Author’s gravatar

      Haba! Talk like an educated man. What is the pass mark for a course at the undergraduate level? 40% which gives the student an E. In 4 subjects the average pass mark should have been 160 or 4Es. 180 is chosen to raise the pass mark to 45 which is a D. Note that JAMB cut-off marks are not the same with university cut-off marks. The JAMB cut-off marks are only used to screen out candidates who have high connections but low scores. Any score below 180 will not admit a candidate into a public university. Most private and Toronto universities don’t use JAMB scores. They only need evidence that a candidate attempted UTME.

      • Author’s gravatar

        Hi, please if you have a child and he comes home with a 45% you could celebrate him. Minimal standards kills and that is why our educational system is all but dead. If jamb actually has a good and standard cut off, it will reduce manipulation and admission at all cost syndrome. I really do not reply comments!

      • Author’s gravatar

        When you have your firm, all who have a 40 and above can apply. Good luck!

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  • Author’s gravatar

    Why can’t Universities decide on their admission criteria and administer it? JAMB is surplus to requirement.