None of the three state owned universities in Lagos will process admission for any candidate who scored below 185 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, the state government has declared, putting it on a direct collision course with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board's nationally approved cut off mark of 150.

Commissioner for Tertiary Education Tolani Sule delivered the position on Wednesday at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, during a ministerial press briefing convened to mark the third year of Governor Babajide Sanwo Olu's second term. His remarks signal the sharpest public rebuke yet from a state government over JAMB's benchmark for the 2026/2027 academic session.

Sule argued that the 150 figure, drawn from a total obtainable score of 400, was calibrated to serve states with weaker educational indices and had no place in Lagos institutions.

"For JAMB to announce 150 as the cut off mark out of the 400 obtainable marks in the UTME for this year's admission seekers is very low," he stated. "Lagos cannot be considered educationally disadvantaged to the extent of bringing its cut off mark down to meet what Sokoto or Zamfara State requires."

The commissioner was equally dismissive of JAMB's approved 100 cut off mark for polytechnics, reaffirming that the state's institutions across the board would not lower their entry requirements to align with the federal body's thresholds.

"To us in Lagos State, the cut off marks approved by JAMB look too low for our universities. None of our three universities is admitting any student who scored below 185 in the UTME," Sule disclosed.

Sule used the occasion to outline the administration's wider education agenda, revealing that Lagos was working towards establishing a fourth state owned university to meet rising demand for higher education among residents. The state had already grown its university count from one to three under Sanwo Olu's administration.

He also announced that legislation was being advanced, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, to create a University of Medicine and Health Sciences, an institution intended to strengthen the training of doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals while curbing the departure of medical workers from the country.

The ministry, he added, was also partnering with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to address the growing problem of illicit drug use within state owned tertiary institutions.