The 2025 Policy Meeting on Admissions into Nigerian tertiary institutions took a dramatic turn when the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, openly challenged the judgment of university Vice-Chancellors, polytechnic Rectors, and College of Education Provosts who collectively approved what many have now described as embarrassing admission thresholds.
The meeting, held with stakeholders from across the Nigerian tertiary education sector, witnessed the Registrar question how these seasoned academics could, with straight faces, endorse admissions benchmarks as low as 140 for universities, 100 for polytechnics, and as scandalously low as 80 for some Colleges of Education. Professor Oloyede, in an impassioned yet sarcastic tone, ridiculed the idea that the same heads who demand parity between university and polytechnic degrees are also the ones pushing for vastly different and increasingly falling admission criteria.
It all began when Professor Umar Adam Katsayal, mni, Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Transportation, Daura, moved the motion for a 140/400 UTME cut-off mark for university admission. He was swiftly supported by Professor Ifeanyi Ike, Vice Chancellor of Madonna University, who echoed the same proposal. The motion went unchallenged by the larger academic group, prompting approval without contest.
Other Vice-Chancellors who offered variations included Professor Owunari Georgewill of the University of Port Harcourt, who proposed 150, and Professor Ayodeji Agboola of Olabisi Onabanjo University, who advocated 160. However, these higher figures garnered little support. The consensus gravitated toward the lowest permissible mark: 140.
The case was worse for polytechnics. Professor James Okoro, Rector of Delta State Maritime Polytechnic, proposed 100 as the minimum score. This was seconded by Dr. Sunny Kehinde Osenu from ICT Polytechnic, Saapade, who even went further to suggest a 90-point benchmark. By a show of hands, a majority agreed on 100, sealing the fate of admissions into technical institutions.
In what many have termed an academic tragedy, only one Provost, Dr. Samuel Akintunde of Adeyemi College of Education, argued for a higher 150 mark for the Colleges of Education. He was overruled almost immediately. Other Provosts, such as Dr. Abdulkareem Bello of Federal College of Education (Technical), Bichi, and Dr. Jimoh Lasisi Ayanda of Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun, rallied behind a 100-mark threshold. Some, like Dr. Emmanuel Ikenyiri of Federal College of Education, Omoku, even proposed 80 as acceptable.
Reacting sharply, Professor Oloyede questioned how institutions that advocate for parity between HND and B.Sc holders could justify such wide gaps in admission standards. He highlighted the contradiction in polytechnic leaders demanding equal treatment with universities, yet repeatedly dragging down their own entry benchmarks.
His tone, though witty, exposed the rot in Nigeria’s tertiary admission structure. “You want to be equal to universities, yet you recommend 100 while they grudgingly take 140? What future are we preparing our children for?” the Registrar asked, raising concern over the long-term consequences of accommodating mediocrity.
Observers noted the irony in the silence of the academia. Not one of the professors, rectors or provosts could give a compelling academic justification for their decisions. Rather, the conversation exposed systemic pressures that seem to prioritize enrollment numbers over academic merit, possibly for financial survival.
Critics argue that the falling standards reflect a deeper crisis in the Nigerian educational system, one where quality has been sacrificed on the altar of quantity. The pressure to fill classrooms, attract funding, and remain relevant in an overcrowded higher education space seems to be overriding concerns for excellence.
This public confrontation by the JAMB Registrar has reignited debates on whether JAMB should continue to allow institutions to set their own cut-off marks. Many now believe that the responsibility should be re-centralized to curb institutional recklessness.
Educational analysts are calling for a broader reform of Nigeria’s admission process, including strict guidelines and consequences for institutions that trivialize academic standards. “We are breeding a generation that is being told excellence doesn’t matter,” one analyst said.
In the end, Professor Oloyede’s confrontation at the policy meeting wasn’t just a jab at figures. It was a wake-up call to a nation whose intellectuals appear increasingly complicit in normalizing low standards. And unless urgent reforms are made, the price will be paid not in marks, but in the competence of Nigeria’s future workforce.
