By Precious Ezekiel & Doyin Adeleye

Nigerians have expressed mixed reactions following the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) recent announcement of new cut-off marks for tertiary institutions.

The Board, together with other stakeholders in the education sector, set a minimum Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) score of 140 for university admissions. In contrast, polytechnics and colleges of education have a cut-off mark of 100 of the obtainable 400 marks.

A lecturer at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Dr John Oyewole, criticized the reduction in JAMB’s cut-off marks, arguing that it signified a decline in academic standards.

He said, “Nigeria is not progressing with this reduction,” he said. “The way forward is to be strict and uncompromising with cut-off marks to encourage serious academic preparation.”

Similarly, an educational consultant, Mrs. Onyekachi Uju, criticized the benchmarks, noting a significant failure rate in recent years.

She elaborated on the poor performance trends, suggesting that the country is neither progressing nor regressing, as UTME scores have consistently been low.

Mrs Uju emphasized the need for a thorough assessment of the examination and the students’ preparedness for the Computer-Based Test (CBT) exam.

“Students have been failing woefully since the introduction of CBT exams. We should also examine the exam environments and technical issues affecting performance.

“The time given sometimes is not even realistic enough for students to complete the number of sums given. So, these are some of the many things we have to look at; maybe we have to restructure the board and as teachers, we have to prepare the students well enough to pass the exam.

“I think the students need to prepare more for the exam. They need to take CBT practice exams before they go into the hall.”

Some of the candidates for the 2024 UTME who spoke to The Hope have divergent opinions.

Amudipe Omotola saw the new cut-off mark as advantageous. “It benefits students with lower grades, allowing them to gain university admission,” he remarked.

Adebowale David also suggested that lowering the cut-off mark was to help more students progress.

Conversely, Oloye Shileola Victor found the new cut-off mark discouraging because it gives room for more lazy students in the country,

He noted that many students are now TikTokers while some cannot even do away with their phones for an hour, saying the new cut-off mark will aid laziness.

Ezekiel Joy and Ojo Boluwatife also expressed concern that students with low grades might struggle academically if admitted to tertiary institutions which will lead to churning out ill-trained graduates.