The Lagos State Government has rejected the 150 cut-off mark set by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for university admissions, insisting that its state-owned universities will not admit candidates who score below 185 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME)
The Commissioner for Tertiary Education in Lagos State, Tolani Sule, made the position known on Wednesday during a ministerial press briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, as part of activities marking Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s third year in office for his second term.
Sule described JAMB’s benchmark as too low for Lagos universities, stating that the state would not compromise its academic standards to align with what he described as lower requirements in some other parts of the country.
He said: “To us in Lagos State, the cut-off marks approved by JAMB look too low for our universities. None of our three universities is admitting any student who scored below 185 in the UTME.”
He explained that while JAMB’s policy is designed to ensure inclusiveness across the country’s geo-political zones, Lagos State does not fall under states considered educationally disadvantaged.
“For JAMB to announce 150 as the cut-off mark out of the 400 obtainable marks in the UTME for this year’s admission seekers is very low,” he added.
“Lagos cannot be considered educationally disadvantaged to the extent of bringing its cut-off mark down to meet what Sokoto or Zamfara State requires.”
He further noted that the state government remains committed to improving access to higher education but will continue to uphold strict academic standards in its universities.
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