The Lagos State Government has declared that its universities will not accept the 150 minimum cut off mark approved by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board for the 2026 admission exercise, insisting that candidates must score at least 185 to gain admission into state owned institutions.
The Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Tolani Sule, stated this on Wednesday during a ministerial press briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa as part of activities marking Governor Babajide Sanwo Olu’s third year in office for his second term.
Sule said Lagos could not afford to lower its academic standards despite JAMB’s nationwide benchmark, stressing that the state’s universities remain committed to quality education and merit based admission.
“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 the benchmark approved by JAMB did not reflect the academic expectations of Lagos institutions, noting that the state occupies a unique position in the country’s educational system.
“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 added that Lagos should not be placed in the same category with states battling educational disadvantages.
“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, however, reiterated the state government’s commitment to increasing access to tertiary education through infrastructure development and the establishment of more institutions.
According to him, the increase in the number of Lagos State owned universities from one to three was part of Governor Sanwo Olu’s broader plan to create more opportunities for residents seeking higher education.
“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.
He also disclosed that plans were ongoing to establish another state university to accommodate the growing number of admission seekers in Lagos.
“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.
