Varsities, polytechnics get cut-off marks in June — JAMB

THE Joint Admission and Matriculation Board,
JAMB, has disclosed that the cut-off marks for
universities and polytechnics will be made public
in June, 2016. Its Public Relations Officer, Dr Fabian Benjamin
in a telephone conversation with Vanguard said:
“JAMB will officially publish the 2016 Unified
Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), cut-
off marks for universities and polytechnics in
June.”
He urged candidates of the 2016 UTME to ignore
the cut-off marks from some websites and social
media, stating that those cut-off marks were just
the imagination of people.
You would recall that many websites over the
past weeks had published that JAMB’s cut-off
marks for university and polytechnic are 180 and
150 respectively.
Candidates seeking admission
Having gone through the rigour of UTME
examinations in the past weeks, candidates
seeking admission in universities, polytechnics
and colleges of education are expecting JAMB
cut-off marks which will give candidates next line
of action.
For any student to participate in post-UTME of
the institutions of first and second choice, such
candidate must beat JAMB 2016 cut-off mark,
institution's of first choice cut-off mark, and
departmental cut-off mark. To JAMB, the cut-off
point for university and polytechnics are
determined every year by the candidates’ over
all performance. Apart from JAMB setting
entrance cut-off points for university and
polytechnic applicants, each institution, also has
its cut-off point for students seeking admission
in the school.
In most cases, even when a student meets the
cut-off mark of the institution, admission is not
guaranteed if he does not meet the cut-off mark
of the chosen course. Vanguard investigation
revealed that all these measures were put in
place by universities to reduce the numbers of
students seeking admission, especially where
many students make the institution their first
choice. Thus, most times, when JAMB gives cut-
off mark as 160 or 180 to universities,
universities like the University of Lagos
(UNILAG), University of Ilorin (UNILORIN),
University of Benin (UNIBEN), University of
Ibadan (UI), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU),
University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and Federal
University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) and
others, give their institution’s cut-off marks. Such
cut-off marks are usually higher than the JAMB
cut-off marks.
Besides, students aspiring to study courses like
Medicine, Engineering, Law and Mass
Communication in many universities, attract
higher university and departmental cut-off
marks.
For some Nigerian polytechnics, if JAMB fixes its
cut-off mark at 150, institutions like Kwara State
Polytechnic and Lagos State Polytechnic insist on
180 as cut-off points. The knowledge of the
aforementioned will assist candidates to change
institutions and courses of study before it’s too
late.
Certificate of Recognition
Meanwhile,the Executive Secretary, National
Universities Commission had disclosed that 1.1
million students seeking admission into Nigerian
universities will have their hope dashed, as only
400,000 out of the 1.5 million candidates that
sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation
Examination in 2016 will gain admission.
Okojie who spoke recently in Abuja while
handing over the Certificate of Recognition for
the new Edo State University, Iyanmo to
Governor Adams Oshiomhole, solicits for more
universities in Nigeria.
He said: “I am always happy when a new
university comes on board; what that means is
that we are expanding and we are opening up
access.’’
He admitted that the number of candidates that
sit for UTME organised by JAMB every year
outnumbered the available spaces in Nigerian
universities.
He said that the new universities were needed to
boost access to higher education while making
sure that quality was not compromised.

Source: Vanguard