125 candidates who score 300, above denied admissions – JAMB

125 candidates of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME and Direct Entry examinations who scored 300 and above in 2021 were not able to secure admission into tertiary institutions.

The figure is based on the admission statistics prepared by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board for the period under review.

Reports have it that while tertiary institutions have the freedom to determine their respective cut-off marks for admission, there is a widely held belief that candidates who score higher marks have advantages over those with poor UTME scores.

According to the statistics obtained from the board, on Saturday, 715 candidates had 300 and above in the 2021 examinations.

JAMB noted that only 590 out of the 715, were able to get admission, while out of the 125 who were denied admissions, JAMB noted that 35 of them applied for Medicine.

A total of 64 applied for Engineering-related courses; one for education; 18 for Science-related courses.

Furthermore, the board also revealed that while four of the candidates applied for programmes under the social sciences; only three applied for courses under admissions.

Commenting on the development, the board blamed certain factors on the non-admission status of the 125 high scorers.

“No Mathematics in UTME combination disadvantages Medicine candidates; English & Literature in UTME combination helping law candidates to be admitted into English, Mass Communication, etc.

The board also noted that some candidates did not upload their O’Level results on CAPS.

It however stated that, “sensitization of candidates to upload O’ level results on CAPS is yielding results”.

Meanwhile, JAMB on Saturday published some of the guidelines for the 2022/2023 admissions.

Some of the guidelines, which were obtained from the website of the board, partly reads, “Every institution is at liberty to determine the minimum UTME score acceptable to it for admission.

“Similarly, for DE, each institution will determine the number of points required by it for direct entry admission. Nevertheless, no institution can recommend or admit any candidate with less than two points for direct entry.

“No institution will be allowed to recommend or admit any candidate whose UTME score is below the threshold of 140 and 100 for Degree and ND/NCE, respectively.

“No institution is allowed to recommend or admit any candidate whose total score is below the minimum score proposed by the Institution and approved by the Policy Meeting. The totality of all scores being used for the ranking of the candidate shall be taken into account in determining the percentage minimum score”.