FG sets 150 minimum score for universities, nursing colleges

The federal government and key stakeholders in the tertiary education sector have approved 150 as the minimum admission benchmark for universities and colleges of nursing sciences for the 2025 admission exercise.

The decision was reached on Monday during the 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions, convened by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board in Abuja.

Stakeholders at the meeting also approved 100 as the minimum admissible score for admission into polytechnics and monotechnics across the country.

The approved benchmarks, officially referred to as the National Minimum Tolerable UTME Scores, imply that no tertiary institution is permitted to admit candidates who score below the prescribed limits.

However, institutions retain the discretion to set higher cut-off marks depending on the competitiveness of their programmes.

Speaking during the meeting, Maruf Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, stressed that institutions must strictly comply with the approved benchmarks.

“For college of nursing, it’s 150. Anything less than that will not be admitted. Likewise for polytechnic and monotechnic, anything less than 100 will not be acceptable, and for university, the admissible score is 150,” the minister stated.

The benchmarks were adopted after deliberations and voting by heads of tertiary institutions, including vice-chancellors, rectors, provosts, and other stakeholders in the education sector.

Last year, universities also adopted 150 as the minimum benchmark, while polytechnics and colleges of education retained 100.

The annual policy meeting serves as a platform where admission guidelines and standards for universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and other tertiary institutions are reviewed and harmonised ahead of the admission exercise.

The meeting also reaffirmed the federal government’s position that all admissions must be processed through the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) to ensure transparency, fairness, and accountability in the admission process.

Stakeholders at the meeting noted that while the minimum benchmark provides a national standard, institutions are expected to maintain merit and competitiveness in their admission procedures.