…Oloyede Flags Top Scorer as Suspected Mercenary
…11 JAMB Staff Arrested in Ogun, 3,300 Candidates Under Investigation
Balqees Adeniji & Feyisayo Ogunbiyi
A wave of public outrage has trailed the decision by Vice Chancellors and other tertiary education stakeholders to peg the minimum cut-off mark for university admission at 150 and 100 for polytechnics and colleges of education for the 2025/2026 academic session.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that the decision, announced at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) 2025 Policy Meeting on Admissions held in Abuja on Tuesday, has sparked widespread condemnation, with many accusing the stakeholders of lowering educational standards to an all-time low.
Although JAMB facilitated the meeting, its Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, clarified that the cut-off marks were jointly approved by the Vice Chancellors, Rectors, Provosts, and other heads of tertiary institutions present at the session.
“The minimum admissible scores for admissions for the next academic session have been fixed at 150 for universities, 100 for polytechnics and colleges of education, and 140 for colleges of nursing sciences,” Oloyede said during the meeting.
Public Anger over ‘Academic Collapse’
The decision triggered a firestorm on social media, with many users on X (formerly Twitter) accusing the education authorities of normalising mediocrity.
“To set 150 as university cut-off is a loud declaration that education in Nigeria is dying,” a user, Toheeb Alim, posted. “It’s a national emergency.”
Another user, Immaculate, called for drastic intervention: “There’s no hope. The education sector is bleeding and beyond reform.”
Baby Girllola added, “The JAMB registrar should resign. This is a national embarrassment.”
Suspicion Surrounds UTME Top Scorer
In an even more startling revelation, Prof. Oloyede disclosed that the board is investigating the highest-scoring candidate in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) over suspicions of impersonation.
While withholding the name of the candidate, the registrar said preliminary findings suggest the possibility of a mercenary being used to sit the exam on the candidate’s behalf.
“This is not the first time we’re uncovering such cases,” he said, adding that the board is leaving no stone unturned in verifying the authenticity of the result.
JAMB Staff Arrested, 3,300 Candidates Under Probe
In Ogun State, no fewer than 11 JAMB staff have been arrested and are currently facing prosecution over alleged involvement in examination malpractice.
Prof. Oloyede also disclosed that 3,300 candidates nationwide are under investigation for various infractions, including result forgery and impersonation.
In Katsina, the police arraigned two suspects — Bolanwu Emmanuel and Ibrahim Abdulaziz — before a Federal High Court for alleged impersonation during the 2025 UTME.
Police prosecutor Abdussalam Danmaidaki told the court that Emmanuel contracted Abdulaziz to write the exam for him using his registration number at Zee Alpha International School, Funtua.
The offence contravenes Sections 4(2)(a)(b) and 4(3)(c) of the Examination Malpractice Act, Cap E15, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. Both suspects pleaded not guilty, and the case was adjourned to July 18.
Sector In Crisis
With the admission cut-off controversy, suspected result fraud, and the ongoing crackdown on malpractice, confidence in Nigeria’s tertiary education system is being eroded.
Stakeholders, students, and parents are now calling for urgent reforms, while some say the JAMB registrar and key education policymakers must take responsibility for the rot in the system.
“This could be a defining moment,” an education analyst told PLATFORM TIMES.
“If this crisis is not addressed decisively, the integrity of Nigeria’s entire higher education system may be lost.”
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