Why JAMB Should Bring Back a 180 Cut-Off to Protect Academic Standards

For over a decade of teaching in Nigerian secondary schools, I’ve watched the lowering of JAMB’s cut-off mark to 140—and even talks of 120—erode the exam’s core purpose. JAMB exists to identify students ready for university rigour. Asking only one out of three questions correctly no longer tests readiness; it merely processes bodies into lecture halls. Students who pass with 140 or 150 often lack essential study habits, problem-solving skills, and reading discipline. This minimum-effort mindset follows them into university and beyond, producing graduates who struggle with coherent reports and basic concepts. Employers and postgraduate programmes now lament the predictable decline in graduate quality. Reinstating a 180 cut-off would signal that genuine preparation is non-negotiable. It would motivate students to work harder in SS1–SS3, push schools to raise teaching standards, and ensure universities admit cohorts ready to succeed. Nigeria’s future—economic, scientific, and civic—depends on the quality of minds its universities produce, and that quality must start at the entrance gate.

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