By Willy Okonji ~
The Lagos State Government has rejected the 150 minimum cut-off mark approved by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for university admissions, declaring that none of its state-owned universities will admit candidates who scored below 185 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Tolani Sule, stated this on Wednesday during a ministerial press briefing at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, held to commemorate the third year of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second-term administration.
Sule described JAMB’s benchmark as inadequate for Lagos institutions, insisting that the state would not compromise its academic standards.
“To us in Lagos State, the cut-off marks approved by JAMB look too low for our universities. None of our three universities is admitting any student who scored below 185 in the UTME,” he said.
The commissioner argued that while JAMB’s decision may have been designed to accommodate candidates across the country’s six geo-political zones, Lagos could not be classified among states with weaker educational performance indicators.
“For JAMB to announce 150 as the cut-off mark out of the 400 obtainable marks in the UTME for this year’s admission seekers is very low,” Sule stated.
He further stressed that Lagos should not lower its standards to align with states regarded as educationally disadvantaged.
“Lagos cannot be considered educationally disadvantaged to the extent of bringing its cut-off mark down to meet what Sokoto or Zamfara State requires,” he added.
Sule noted that the state government would continue investing in educational infrastructure and expanding access to tertiary education without sacrificing quality.
According to him, the increase in the number of Lagos State-owned universities from one to three reflects Governor Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to widening educational opportunities for residents.
“Increasing our universities from one to three is still part of what the state governor is doing to provide more educational platforms and opportunities for Lagos residents,” he said.
The commissioner also disclosed that the government plans to establish a fourth state-owned university to accommodate more admission seekers.
“And increasing the number to four is still part of this effort by the state government to give all admission seekers the opportunity to get tertiary education in Lagos,” Sule added.
