JAMB cancels uniform cut-off marks
*Says each institution to fix minimum admission benchmark
*Warns universities not to go below 120; Polytechnics, Colleges of Education not to go below 100
THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has cancelled uniform admission benchmark, otherwise called cut-off mark, for tertiary institutions in the country.
The body said that each of the nation’s tertiary institutions is now authorised to peg its admission benchmark or cut off mark, but added that it should not go below 120 points for Universities and 100 points for Polytechnic and Colleges of Education.
The decision was taken at the 2021 policy meeting which held virtually yesterday, presided over by the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu.
Already, universities, polytechnics and colleges of education have sent their various cut-off marks to JAMB.
Speaking during the meeting, the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, said some universities, such as the University of Maiduguri proposed 150; Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, 140; Pan Atlantic University, Lagos, 210; the University of Lagos, 200,; Lagos State University, 190; Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State,190; and Bayero University, Kano, 180, among others.
The stakeholders also approved October 29, 2021 as the deadline for the closure of amendments for 2021 admissions.
On the deadline for the closure of admissions, the stakeholders resolved to allow the ministry decide as they could not agree on the December 31, 2021 deadline for all public institutions and January 31, 2022 for all private institutions.
Stakeholders also adopted the 2021 admission guidelines, which provide that all applications for part time or full time programmes for degree, NCE, OND, and others must be posted only through JAMB.
The meeting approved that for Direct Entry, DE, the maximum score a candidate could present was 6 and the minimum, 2 or E, as required by law.
Speaking on other admission criteria, Oloyede said a candidate’s credentials must be uploaded through Central Admissions Processing System, CAPS, and be recommended by the institution. While JAMB approves and the candidate accepts the offer of admission. He said if a candidate did not accept an offer, the institution could change the candidate after informing JAMB.
Also approved at the meeting was the guideline that every institution is at liberty to admit candidates based on its own minimum scores approved by the institution and at the policy meeting.
The meeting also resolved that every institution should maintain its own minimum score as approved by the policy meeting.
According to the stakeholders, the 2021 admissions will be conducted only through CAPS, no institution is allowed to admit candidates without uploading their details on CAPS.
Oloyede further disclosed that for 2021/2022 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, the board is introducing two new subjects: computer studies and physical and health education, bringing the total number of subjects to 25.
The stakeholders also exempted prison inmates, visually impaired and foreign candidates from sitting for the post-UTME exercise.
Speaking on the 2021 admissions, Oloyede said out of the 956,809 admission spaces in the 962 higher education institutions in the country, about 600,000 have so far been filled.
While saying there are many admission spaces not yet filled up in several courses due to lack of qualified candidates, Oloyede said private varsities in the country were only able to admit 36,381 candidates out of their available 120,938 spaces.
Declaring the policy meeting open, the Minister of Education, lauded JAMB for introducing the use of National Identification Number, NIN, in the registration process for UTME.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono, the minister said the use of NIN drastically reduced malpractice in the 2021 exam, adding that the West African Examinations Council, WAEC, will also follow a similar path by adopting the mandatory use of NIN.
“I am enthused that the last examination recorded the lowest cases of examination irregularities in the history of the Board because those who will normally have exploited the weak links through biometrics infractions had been effectively check-mated with the introduction of NIN by JAMB.
“It is gratifying that the WAEC has decided to follow the path of using NIN to curb examination malpractices. The ministry is presently considering other ways of using the NIN to uncover some other admission irregularities and all perpetrators including their collaborators in the institutions would be made to face the consequences. “
On illegal admissions being conducted by some tertiary institutions, the minister expressed concerns that the government’s directive that all admissions should be done through JAMB’s Central Admissions Processing System, CAPS, is being violated.
He directed JAMB to furnish government with the list of affected institutions for necessary punishment.
His words: “It is saddening that despite the clear directives at previous policy meetings some institutions still illegally admitted candidates outside CAPS. I consider such act as a direct affront on the system and appropriate sanctions shall be applied on those found to have been in such disruptive act.
“Similarly, any institution that issued admission letter to candidates outside CAPS will be punished for such gross indiscipline and fraud.
“The consequence of admissions conducted outside of CAPS is grievous. It subjects the candidates to gloom future as nemesis of illegal admission awaits them at the completion of study when it will be impossible to take full advantage of the acquired certificates.
“As a demonstration of our resolve, I have directed JAMB to bring forward for appropriate sanctions, the list of all institutions involved in the violation of the directive of government which was personally conveyed by me at the 2018 policy meeting in Gbongan, Osun State.”
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