JAMB: Universities asked to reduce cut-off mark

The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede has said universities asked for the declared cut-off marks to be reduced.

According to him, the universities made the demand in consideration of their affiliate campuses.

He said JAMB, however, refused to grant the demand because both the main campuses and the affiliates will issue the same certificates at the end of the students’ academic programme.

Oloyede told Punch: “Some of the institutions do not know the implication of what we are doing. For example, if the University of Ibadan says its cut-off mark is 200, it cannot come back and say it wants to admit people that scored 180. But some are now coming back to say they have what they call affiliates and that those affiliates can take less than 200.

“I said ‘no’ because the certificate you are going to issue to students from those affiliates will be your school’s certificate, you are not going to write College of Education, Osiele campus, for instance, on the certificates. So your standard must be your standard.

“While they declared openly a particular cut-off mark, they are now putting pressure on JAMB to allow their affiliates, to which the certificates of their institution will be issued, to admit below that cut-off mark. That is the problem we have now.

“Some want to use a cut-off mark that is less than what was declared and I said no, they have to wait till next year before they declare something else. This year, what you have declared is your cut-off mark and it applies not only to the main campus but all your affiliates and campuses that will be issued the certificate of that institution.”