universities,and polytechnics cut-off marks to be determined in June —BY JAMB

THE Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has disclosed that the cut-off marks for universities and polytechnics will be made public in June, 2016...

Its Public Relations Officer, Dr Fabian Benjamin in a telephone conversation with Vanguard said: “JAMB will officially publish the 2016 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), cut-off marks for universities and polytechnics in June.”

He urged candidates of the 2016 UTME to ignore the cut-off marks from some websites and social media, stating that those cut-off marks were just the imagination of people.

You would recall that many websites over the past weeks had published that JAMB’s cut-off marks for university and polytechnic are 180 and 150 respectively.

Candidates seeking admission Having gone through the rigour of UTME examinations in the past weeks, candidates seeking admission in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education are expecting JAMB cut-off marks which will give candidates next line of action.

For any student to participate in post-UTME of the institutions of first and second choice, such candidate must beat JAMB 2016 cut-off mark, institution's of first choice cut-off mark, and departmental cut-off mark. To JAMB, the cut-off point for university and polytechnics are determined every year by the candidates’ over all performance. Apart from JAMB setting entrance cut-off points for university and polytechnic applicants, each institution, also has its cut-off point for students seeking admission in the school.

In most cases, even when a student meets the cut- off mark of the institution, admission is not guaranteed if he does not meet the cut-off mark of the chosen course. Vanguard investigation revealed that all these measures were put in place by universities to reduce the numbers of students seeking admission, especially where many students make the institution their first choice. Thus, most times, when JAMB gives cut-off mark as 160 or 180 to universities, universities like the University of Lagos (UNILAG), University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), University of Benin (UNIBEN), University of Ibadan (UI), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) and others, give their institution’s cut-off marks. Such cut-off marks are usually higher than the JAMB cut-off marks. Besides, students aspiring to study courses like Medicine, Engineering, Law and Mass Communication in many universities, attract higher university and departmental cut-off marks.

For some Nigerian polytechnics, if JAMB fixes its cut- off mark at 150, institutions like Kwara State Polytechnic and Lagos State Polytechnic insist on 180 as cut-off points. The knowledge of the aforementioned will assist candidates to change institutions and courses of study before it’s too late.

Certificate of Recognition Meanwhile,the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission had disclosed that 1.1 million students seeking admission into Nigerian universities will have their hope dashed, as only 400,000 out of the 1.5 million candidates that sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination in 2016 will gain admission.

Okojie who spoke recently in Abuja while handing over the Certificate of Recognition for the new Edo State University, Iyanmo to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, solicits for more universities in Nigeria.

He said: “I am always happy when a new university comes on board; what that means is that we are expanding and we are opening up access.’’

He admitted that the number of candidates that sit for UTME organised by JAMB every year outnumbered the available spaces in Nigerian universities.

He said that the new universities were needed to boost access to higher education while making sure that quality was not compromised.