The Federal Government has approved the scrapping of the unified cut-off mark hitherto used by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) as a criterion for admission into tertiary institutions.
This means that the board has been given permission to approve discriminatory cut-off marks for different institutions, believing that such would promote fairness and equity to all interested candidates.
A statement issued in Abuja on Monday by the Deputy Director (Press) in the Ministry of Education, Mr. Ben Goong, noted that the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Anwukah, announced the development after his meeting with chief executive officers under the ministry.
The minister, however, asked JAMB to consult widely with stakeholders to develop separate cut-off marks for universities, polytechnics and colleges of education admissions that would take effect from 2017/2018.
Part of the statement read: “It makes no sense subjecting candidates who are seeking admission into various tertiary institutions to the same cut-off marks when the durations and contents of their courses are radically different.”
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyode, had initiated the argument that the unified cut-off mark hitherto adopted by the Federal Government had outlived its relevance, particularly when colleges of education and polytechnics admit for NCE and diplomas, while universities admit for degrees.