The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is getting ready for its policy meeting about admissions, which will take place on July 18th, 2024. This meeting will decide the JAMB cutoff mark for 2024, a key factor in the admission process for universities, polytechnics, and colleges across Nigeria. If you missed JAMB’s bulletin last week, here is a summary of the main points.
JAMB recently held a supplementary Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) on June 21st and 22nd, 2024. This was necessary due to significant issues at certain exam centers, affecting 28,835 candidates. These steps are part of JAMB’s effort to keep the examination process fair and up to standard.
For candidates applying through Direct Entry (DE) for the 2023/2024 academic session, JAMB has set strict guidelines. Registrations are only valid if done at JAMB-designated offices (PRCs), to ensure proper monitoring. Due to concerns about discrepancies in qualifications, 1,957 candidates were disqualified by institutions and examination bodies. This followed a verification exercise by the Nigeria Postsecondary Education Data System (NIPEDS).
In preparation for the 2024 DE registration, JAMB has advised A-level certificate-awarding institutions to rigorously verify candidates’ qualifications. Institutions must upload applicants’ credentials during registration and verify them through the JAMB portal. Failure to do so may result in candidates being ineligible for admission.
Candidates need to understand that while UTME scores are important in the admission process, they do not guarantee admission into tertiary institutions. JAMB has emphasized that there is no single UTME score (cutoff) that applies to all universities, polytechnics, or colleges of education nationwide. Admission decisions consider various factors beyond just UTME performance.
As the education sector gets ready for the 2024 admissions cycle, determining the JAMB cutoff mark during the upcoming policy meeting will be crucial. Candidates should wait for official announcements after the meeting, as individual institutions will then publish their specific cutoff marks and admission guidelines.
