JAMB concludes 2024 policy meeting on admissions, pegs minimum tolerable UTME marks at 140, 100

By KEMI KASUMU and OUR REPORTER, Abuja

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB)’s eighth edition of policy meeting tagged the “2024 Policy Meeting on Admissions” has come and gone, but lips are yet to subside wagging, due to what many describe as almost limitless wonders the admissions regulatory body has continued to perform under Abeokuta, Ogun State-born Professor Is-haq Oloyede.

Beyond JAMB having remitted billions of Naira on annual basis to the Federal Government’s account, and in multitude that the Board’s leadership was never known for before the advent of Oloyede, it not only discovered and plugged the loopholes of hitherto corruption whereby all monies made were not properly and adequately accounted for, but also, under Professor Is-haq Oloyede, it has now moved steps further to say the days ‘stakes swallowed its monies” are gone with assurances that a lot of great things are achievable within its resources.

With the Policy Meeting on Admissions and National Tertiary Admission Performance-Merit Award (NATAP-M) initiated by the registrar, the Board  has instituted sustainable development for quality admissions system that makes malpractices in examination and admissions process no-longer business as usual for anyone even as it persistently sustains a united front where all stakeholders now speak in one voice taking ownership of every decision as one that is taken inclusively without anyone shut out of the process or disenfranchised at any point.

On Thursday July 18, 2024, driving the process further under the improved system that is now established,  the JAMB approved 140 as the minimum tolerable UTME score for 2024 admission into the nation’s universities, while also approving 100 for polytechnics and colleges of education, respectively, in the country.

The DEFENDER reports that Registrar/Chief Executive of JAMB, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, while making his presentation at the meeting presided over by Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, corrected the impression of many years that people carried around about cut-off mark.

He said, “Many believe that once you meet the cut off mark, you must be admitted, no. You can have cut-off mark and not be admitted” because people who score more than you have already filled the number of candidates for the year in particular institution. “Therefore, the better way to call what you call cut-off mark is minimum tolerable score.”

The 140 National Minimum Tolerable UTME Score (NTMUS) for 2024 admission into tertiary institutions in the country was arrived at, during the 2024 Policy Meeting on Admissions held in the Hairat Ade Balogun Main Auditorium of the Body Benchers, Headquarters, Abuja, on Thursday July 18, 2024.

This globalised online newspaper understands that JAMB, under the uncommon leadership of Professor Oloyede, has made it a tradition to gather stakeholders in the education sector covering all Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts as well as Registrars and Admissions Officers of Federal, States and Private universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the 36 srares and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to have a unanimously agreed decision on what the minimum tolerable UTME marks for their annual Admissions, standards and others forms in policy on admissions will be.

Essentially so, the JAMB Registrar made it clear at the first session of tge meeting that considered the minute of 2023 Policy Meeting that “it is not decision of JAMB but decision unanimously made by all stakeholders that this and others should happen about admissions and standards across all our institutions.”

Oloyede said his regulatory body has also instituted a programme whereby compliance with decisions of the policy meeting are monitored and performance-merit award is also done to appreciate good work and encourage others to do well.

The policy meeting for this year was held following the successful conduct of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which had a total of 1,989,668 candidates registered for the all-important ascendancy examination.

According to the presentation, however, out of the 1,989,668 registered candidates, only 80,810 were absent, while a total of 1,904,189 sat for the UTME within six days of the examination.

The meeting decided on the 140 and 100 minimum tolerable UTME scores following recommendations by heads of the institutions and the procedure witnessed motions being moved, seconded and unanimously applauded by positive voices in the Auditorium.

Registrar of JAMB, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, who announced the NMTUS marks explained that individual institutions were at liberty to raise their minimum benchmark approved at the policy meeting but could not go below what was approved for various institutions.

Admission age

Earlier at the meeting, the Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, ordered the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) not to admit any student below the age of 18 with effect from the 2024 admissions process.

“JAMB is hereby instructed to admit only 18 years old effective this year. This is the law. Universities are therefore advised to stop recommending unqualified students for admission.

“We need to decide whether we want to stand with the law or we want to stand outside of it. If anyone does not like it, let him go back to the lawmakers to amend it.”

While delivering his address as Chairman of the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB)’s 2024 Policy Meeting on Admissions, the Minister had called for enforcement of 18 years as the new minimum admission age for admission into tertiary institutions in the country, adding “that is the law”.

The declaration, however, did not receive support of large majority of the stakeholders, who gave it a thunderous “No” voice in resistance and thus turning the whole event into a rowdy session that the minister had to ask, “Are we together?” And the stakeholders responded with a resounding “No!”

The minister, appearing to be unperturbed with the development, continued with his address as he tried to give reasons for pegging the new admission benchmark at age 18.

It took the intervention of the registrar of JAMB, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, to restore order to the policy meeting with his plea of “Please pay attention please!”

The minister, however, came down to the level of the stakeholders, following the argument that students under the age of 18 had already registered, sat and passed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), and were only awaiting admission. It was said that it would be unfair for such candidates to be denied

Vice Chancellor of Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State, Professor Kayode Thadius Ijiadunola, who led the argument in opposing the motion ratifying age 18 as admission age into high institutions in Nigeria, got massive support from other heads, registrars, and admission officers participating in the policy meeting as he proposed 16 as the minimum age requirement for admission into tertiary institutions.

He said, “What happens to those who have written this year’s exams and passed their exams? We reject 18 years as the minimum age requirement and are proposing 16 years.”

While the hall erupted in support of 16 years as a minimum requirement, the Registrar of JAMB, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, asked to know where parents and candidates were rushing to, as he cited himself as example saying none of his four children entered the university below the age of 18.

Considering the argument, Oloyede turned towards the Education Minister and said, “The only point is they (students) have taken examinations and at that time they were not told or aware and therefore if we want to enforce it, it should be from subsequent years.”

The Minister, in response, said, “I can work with that but I want to remind you of one thing, even that argument cannot stand if we want to go by the law which states 6-3-3-4 as our system of education.

“It won’t stand, but for practical reasons, for this year, I will allow it to stand,” the minister retracted his earlier order and the whole hall went up in applause.

Reiterating the Minister’s decision amidst a resounding applause, Professor Oloyede added, “We thank the minister for conceding but from next year we will enforce it.”

Meanwhile, after the protest that greeted his decision to benchmark entry age into tertiary institutions in the country to 18 years, Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, has rescinded the decision for 2024 but that it will now be effective from subsequent year.

He said his decision that only candidates who have clocked 18 years be offered admissions now takes effect from 2025.

To this effect, the minister said heads of tertiary institutions could be allowed to admit candidates who are 16 years of age with the 2024 UTME.

In the meantime, JAMB Registrar Is-haq Oloyede has said its regulatory body will henceforth fight education malpractices through prevention and not just arresting anyone for same.

Asides the age of 18 for admission approved, which was unanimously agreed to take effect from subsequent admission year (2025), it was also approved that henceforth, any institution admitting students must make its dos and don’ts public.

Oloyede said, “JAMB has been sued for offering admission to candidates in institutions where religious doctrine of owners are imposed on students.”

He said any institution is free to choose what students must not eat or which religious practice is acceptable therein but that it must not be hidden, “it must be made public so that students coming in there will know what they are coming to face abd choose whether to accept the offer of admission or not”, based on those clear cut declarations about the institution.

The policy meeting on education is an annual event. It authorised the commencement of admission into tertiary institutions in the country.

The DEFENDER reports that the 2024 Policy Meeting on Admissions, aside the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, also had the Minister of State for Education, Hon. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, Chairman Senate Committee on Tertiary Education, …., Chairman Senate cmCommittee on Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Senator Salisu Afolabi Shuaib, who were later joined by the Deouty Senate President, Senator Barau Jibril, and and Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Load Fund (NELFUND), Mr. Akintunde Sawyer, among several others.

National Tertiary Admission Performance-Merit Award

The second session of the event witnessed the fourth edition (2021-2022/2023) of JAMB National Tertiary Admission Performance-Merit Award (NATAP-M) where the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwaea State was announced the best institution in the overall winner category and winner of the Fourth Edition of the National Tertiary Admissions Performance-Merit Awards (NATAP-M) for the combined admission years 2021/2022 and 2022/2023.

Popularly called ‘Better by Far’, UNILORIN won the award prize with an aggregate of 12 points in the overall category comprising all 5 elements of the Mega Award that made it leave Abuja event with N500 million.

Other winners across the various categories included the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, which came next to UNILORIN as First Runner-up institution with an aggregate of Eleven (11) points in the overall category comprising all 5 elements of the Mega Award going back with N75 million, and Borno State University, Maiduguri, emerging the Second Runner-up with an aggregate of Nine (9) points in the overall category comprising all 5 elements of the Mega Award leaving with N25 million.

The DEFENDER, which effectively covered the event, reports that Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna, Kaduna State won the best polytechnic with an aggregate of Twelve (12) points in the polytechnic category comprising all 5 elements of the Mega Award and went home with N50 million, while the Federal College of Education, Zaria, Kaduna State won the best college of education with an aggregate of Eleven (11) points in the colleges of education category comprising all 5 elements of the Mega Award went home with N50 million.

Also, PEFTI Film Institute, Lagos, Lagos State won the best innovative enterprise institute with an aggregate of Six (6) points in the Innovative Enterorise Institutions category comprising all 5 elements of the Mega Award returned to Lagos with N10 million.

The DEFENDER reports that the award prize was initiated by Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) under the leadership of Professor Is-haq Oloyede, to encourage quality performance among Nigerian Tertiary institutions.

Four individuals, who were also honoured for their contributions to education JAMB, the NUC, Infornation and Commmunication Technology (ICT) and psychometrics, included former Executive Secretary of the National Universitities Commission (NUC), Professor Peter Okebukola, former Vice Chancellor, Bayero University Kano (BUK), Professor Muhammad Yahusa Bello, BUK Professor of Software Engineering, Professor Bashir Galadanci and University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, (UNN)’s Professor of Psychometrics, Professor Boniface Nworgu, respectively.

The four celebrated professors, asides the award, were also rewarded with an appreciative token of N1 million each for their respective contributions to progress and development of JAMB and education in Nigeria.

In his remarks, Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jubril, said Professor Oloyede deserves to be commended, saying if he could do the wonders he has been doing with JAMB, he will do better as future of Nigeria.

To really underscore his appreciation of the former UNILORIN vice chancellor’s roles in moving Nigeria forward especially from the angle of his present position, Senator Barau Jibril vowed to sponsor a legislative Bill to personally push for upgrading of Oloyede from his current national honour status of CON to GCON, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger.