JAMB Finally Announces Cut-Off Marks for Universities, Others After UTME 2026 Completion
- Leading examination board, JAMB, has set 150 as the cut-off mark for university admissions for the 2026/2027 academic session
- Over 1.8 million Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results have been released out of the 2.2 million registered candidates
- Candidates can check their UTME 2026 scores via Short Message Service (SMS), while result slips are still pending for printing
Legit.ng journalist, Ridwan Adeola Yusuf, has over 9 years of experience covering education in Nigeria and Africa.
FCT, Abuja - The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Monday, May 11, 2026, retained 150 as the minimum admissible scores, popularly called 'cut-off mark', for admission into universities for the 2026/2027 academic session.
As reported by Channels TV, JAMB announced this during its policy meeting in Abuja, the Nigerian capital city, where it said the decision followed a vote of vice-chancellors present at the meeting.
Source: Twitter
UTME: JAMB confirms cut-off score levels
During JAMB's meeting, heads of tertiary institutions in Nigeria unanimously agreed that the minimum admissible scores for admission into Colleges of Nursing should be 150, while polytechnics should set theirs at 100.
A post on JAMB’s official handle announcing the new update is shown below via X (formerly Twitter):
JAMB's UTME 2026 ends
Meanwhile, JAMB has released the results of more than 1.8 million candidates who sat for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
JAMB made this disclosure in its bulletin, obtained by Legit.ng.
The education agency stated that 1,897,692 results have been released out of 2,243,761 candidates who registered to sit the 2026 UTME.
Earlier, JAMB said candidates can only view their scores for now, noting that result slips are not yet available for printing.
JAMB said, according to The Punch:
“To check their results, candidates should send UTMERESULT via SMS to 55019 or 66019, using the same phone number (SIM) used during registration.”
Source: Twitter
Legit.ng understands that the UTME ended on Saturday, April 25, with additional results being released in batches as they become available.
The UTME is Nigeria’s centralised university entrance examination, conducted annually for admission into tertiary institutions.
According to data released by JAMB ahead of the examination, about 2.2 million (2,243,761) candidates registered for the 2026 UTME and sat for the exercise across the country.
This indicates a slight increase compared to the previous year.
The examination, which began on Thursday, April 16, 2026, was held in multiple sessions daily across accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres in Lagos State, Abuja, and other locations nationwide. UTME 2026 came to a conclusion on Saturday, April 25, 2026.
Read more JAMB and UTME news:
- JAMB changes 2025 public universities’ admissions deadline, new date emerges
- Brilliant girl who scored 293 in JAMB, 60% in post-UTME denied admission after 2 attempts, cries out
- Drama as JAMB officials storm out of reps hearing amid heated exchange
JAMB defends role amid scrapping calls
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that JAMB praised the examination agency’s “strategic importance” to Nigeria’s admission system.
JAMB spokesperson Fabian Benjamin said Nigeria’s enrolment system would not have functioned effectively without the board.
Source: Legit.ng
