JAMB pegs varsities’, polytechnics’ cut-off marks at 180 and 150

JAMB pegs varsities’, polytechnics’cut-off marks at 180, 150 THE fourth Combined Policy Committee meeting on admissions to tertiary Institutions yesterdayturned into a rowdy session when the Registrar of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Dibu Ojerinde announced the 2013 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination(UTME) cut-off mark to be 180 for universities and 160 for polytechnics and colleges of education. This is even as he disclosed that all tertiary institutions in the country can only admit 704,000 candidates in the 2013/2014 academic session. Interestingly, National UniversitiesCommission (UNC) and JAMB management have vowed to closely supervise the post-UTME to ensure that no institution admits more than the stipulated carrying capacities. Ojerinde lamented that the examination board and NUC had on several occasions been faced with the challenges of admission of excess students which he said has boxed federal government into a tight corner to the advantage of students and the detriment of the facilities in the institutions. This, he said will no longer be tolerated by the board and warned the institutions in the country to stick to the deadline of October 31st for admission of students while warning the intended students that admission outside the deadline will not be accepted as they will never graduate. According to him “I wish to remindyou formally that all admissions will come to an end by 31st October, 2013. All institutions are hereby called upon to adhere strictly to this date as late submissions will not be entertained”. Meanwhile, the stakeholders observed at the meeting that the number of candidates who applied to be admitted in the 2013/2014 academic session in universities far outnumbered those for polytechnics , colleges of education and the 86 Innovative Enterprise Institutions. It will be recalled that the cut-offpoint of UTME in 2012 was 180 for universities and 160 for polytechnics. However, the issue of 180 and 160 cut-off was thrown open for discussion and to enable the institutions present to agree on it for adoption in the 2013/2014 admission but the issue generated heated argument for which it was argued for and against and at the end of the debate, it was unanimously agreed to peg the cut-off point at 180 for universities and that polytechnics and colleges of education 150 from 160 of last year. The institutions based their argument on the graph shown tothem by JAMB which noted that candidates preferred universities to polytechnics and colleges of education therefore to encourage candidates to opt for polytechnics and colleges of education when they failed to meet the cut-off mark for universities. The Vice Chancellors and other heads of institutions present at the meeting agreed on the need to bring down the cut-off to 150 for non-awarding institutions. Some stakeholders at the meeting also argued that the disparity between degrees and Higher National Diploma (HND) also contributed to the decline in the number of applicants to the non-awarding degree institutions. Education Minister, Prof Ruquayyatu Ahmed Rufa’í in her speech reminded the institutions on the mandatory guidelines on admission, pegging criteria for merit at 45%, catchment 35%, educationally less developed states, ELDS at 20% for federal government owned institutions. For states owned institutions, merit 40%; catchment 40%; ELDS 20%” The institutions, she said, should also be mindful of the 60:40 ratio for science/arts for universities and colleges of education and 70:30 for technology Article Sources: jamb 2013 cut-off mark and Cut-off mark