The stakeholders in the education sector in the North-East have reported that continuous lowering of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination -UTME’s, the cut-off mark would encourage competition and educational development in Nigeria.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board -JAMB, and heads of tertiary institutions of learning and other stakeholders had on July 21, adopted a 140-cut-off mark for admissions for the 2022/2023 academic session.
The board adopted the score of 140 as the minimum cut-off mark for admission into universities and 100 for polytechnics and colleges of education, respectively.
A few of the stakeholders who spoke in Bauchi, Damaturu, Dutse, Gombe, Maiduguri, and Yola, described the move as a welcome development, adding that it would provide a level playing ground for candidates looking for admission into higher institutions. But several others dismissed it as inimical to the sustainable development of tertiary education in Nigeria.
Mr. Mubarak Tanko, a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology Science at the University of Maiduguri, has stated that the lowering of the cut-off mark would not affect the Post-UTME test prepared by the institutions.
He went on to say that the institutions were allowed to set their cut-off mark and the least score which any candidate must get to enable him to qualify for the Post-UTME screening.
“Competitive schools will likely set their admission mark above the minimum 140 cut-off mark, especially those with a high number of applicants, they might set their cut-off mark at the 200 mark and above,”
Tanko said.
According to the lecturer, the 140-cut-off mark will avail candidates who score below 200 to get admission to less competitive universities across the country.
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