The Lagos State Government has faulted the 150 minimum cut-off mark approved by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for university admissions, insisting that none of its state-owned universities would admit candidates who scored below 185 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Commissioner for Tertiary Education in the state, Tolani Sule, made the position known on Wednesday during a ministerial press briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, to mark the third year of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second term in office.
Sule described JAMB’s approved cut-off mark as too low for Lagos universities, arguing that the state could not lower its educational standards to align with states considered educationally disadvantaged.
“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,” the commissioner stated.
He noted that while JAMB’s decision was aimed at accommodating candidates across the six geo-political zones, Lagos could not be grouped among states with weaker educational indices.
“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,” he said.
“Lagos cannot be considered educationally disadvantaged to the extent of bringing its cut-off mark down to meet what Sokoto or Zamfara State requires,” Sule added.
The commissioner stressed that the state government would instead continue investing in educational infrastructure and expanding access to tertiary education without compromising standards.
According to him, the expansion of Lagos State-owned universities from one to three forms part of Governor Sanwo-Olu’s efforts to create more opportunities for residents seeking higher education.
He further disclosed that plans were underway to increase the number of state-owned universities to four in a bid to accommodate more admission seekers.
“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.
“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.
