The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) announced the minimum admissible scores for the 2026/2027 admission cycle during its policy meeting in Abuja on May 11, 2026.
Here are the main points candidates and institutions should note:
1. Minimum scores are unchanged from last year
JAMB retained 150 as the minimum cut-off mark for universities and colleges of nursing. Polytechnics and monotechnics have a minimum of 100. The decision was reached after voting by vice-chancellors and other stakeholders at the meeting.
2. Institutions can set higher benchmarks
The JAMB scores are baseline requirements. Universities and other institutions are free to adopt higher cut-off marks for competitive courses such as Medicine, Law, Engineering, and Nursing. For example, Pan-Atlantic University set its minimum at 220, while the University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, and others fixed theirs at 200.
3. Admission deadlines have been fixed
Public universities must conclude admissions by Oct. 31, 2026, private universities by Nov. 30, and polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of education by Dec. 31, 2026. Institutions that miss these deadlines will lose access to the candidate portal for the session.
4. Candidates have 4 weeks to accept offers
Successful candidates must accept admission offers within four weeks. Failure to do so may result in the offer being withdrawn or reassigned.
5. UTME is no longer required for some NCE and agriculture programmes
Candidates applying for Nigeria Certificate in Education programs with at least four credit passes, and for non-engineering agriculture courses in colleges of education and polytechnics, are exempt from UTME. They must still register with JAMB for screening and verification through CAPS.
6. Over 1.8 million UTME results have been released
Out of 2.2 million registered candidates for the 2026 UTME, more than 1.8 million results have been released. Candidates can check scores via SMS, while result slips are pending for printing.
JAMB Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede said the measures are aimed at ensuring fairness, transparency, and timely completion of admissions across all tertiary institutions.
