National Minimum Tolerable UTME Score (NTMUS) for 2024 Admission in Nigeria's Tertiary Institutions

The 2025 annual policy meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and tertiary education stakeholders in Abuja on Tuesday adopted the National Minimum Tolerable UTME Score (NTMUS) for 2024 admission into Nigeria's universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. The meeting approved 150 as the minimum tolerable score for universities, 100 for polytechnics and colleges of education, and 140 for colleges of nursing. This means that no tertiary institution should admit students with scores below these approved minimums, while institutions can still set higher cut-off marks for applicants.

Key Takeaways:

• The meeting approved a National Minimum Tolerable UTME Score (NTMUS) of 150 for universities, 100 for polytechnics and colleges of education, and 140 for colleges of nursing.
• The decision was made after the heads of institutions, including Vice-Chancellors, Rectors, and Provosts, voted on the proposed scores.
• The JAMB Registrar and Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, initially proposed increasing the minimum tolerable score to at least 160, but received little support from the heads of institutions.
• Professors Ernest Izevbigie and Owunari Georgewill proposed scores of 140 and 150, respectively, while Professor Ayodeji Agboola proposed 160, which received little support.
• The decision requires all institutions to maintain their approved minimum UTME scores.
• The meeting aimed to standardize the minimum tolerable UTME scores across Nigeria's tertiary institutions.

Statistics:

• The approved minimum tolerable UTME score for universities is 150.
• The approved minimum tolerable UTME score for polytechnics and colleges of education is 100.
• The approved minimum tolerable UTME score for colleges of nursing is 140.
• The proposed minimum tolerable UTME score by JAMB Registrar Is-haq Oloyede was 160.
• 140 was the proposed minimum score by Vice-Chancellor Ernest Izevbigie.
• 150 was the proposed minimum score by Vice-Chancellor Owunari Georgewill.

Sources:

• "JAMB, Tertiary Institutions Adopt Minimum Cut-Off Score for 2024 Admission - THISDAYLIVE" (https://leadership.ng/2025/04/jamb-tertiary-institutions-adopt-minimum-cut-off-score-for-2024-admission/)
• "JAMB sets cut-off point for 2024 admission" (https://punchng.com/jamb-sets-cut-off-point-for-2024-admission/)
• "JAMB, stakeholders adopt new cut-off points for 2024 admissions" (https://premiumtimesng.com/2025/04/05/jamb-stakeholders-adopt-new-cut-off-points-for-2024-admissions/)