The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) does not agree to the new minimum cut-off mark set by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, had on Tuesday announced 120 as minimum cutoff for admission into universities in Nigeria.
He also announced that the body, in collaboration with all stakeholders, had fixed 100 as cutoff for admission into polytechnics and colleges of education. The examination body’s head, however, said institutions were free to raise their cutoffs.
But the polytechnic lecturers are worried that the new cut-off mark for admission would adversely affect the standard of education in the country.
The president of the union, Usman Dutse, said in Lagos that ASUP did not buy the decision of JAMB and what it intended to achieve with the development.
“In the past, for various institutions we have in Nigeria, even the 180 cut-off mark approved by JAMB was found too low and now they are bringing it down to 120-100,” he said.
“For any examination in the world and any global ranking, there is nowhere 25 per cent is used as pass mark.
“We do not know what the bases are and what it (JAMB) intends to achieve.
“The suggested cut-off mark is not good for the development of education and the candidates,’’ the ASUP president added.
