The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has condemned the downward review of cut-off marks for admission into tertiary institutions.
NANS President, Chinonso Obasi, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said the development would encourage indolence among candidates.
JAMB, along with stakeholders had fixed the minimum cut-off marks for admissions into universities at 120 and polytechnics and colleges of education pegged at 100.
The stakeholders added that institutions were at liberty to raise their cut-off marks for admission above the minimum set by JAMB.
Obasi, however, insisted that knowledge acquisition demands hard work, adding that aspiring students should not be encouraged to relapse into laziness.
“If over the years, students were able to work hard to meet cut off points, it does not make any logical sense to now lower the standard.
“The inability of any student to meet the cut-off points is a function of outright indolence that should not be encouraged.
“The general impression is that Nigerian graduates are not employable; therefore, lowering of standard will translate to a disastrous outcome in the future by churning out young people who cannot fit into the demands and expectations of the 21st century.
“Nigerian youths are intelligent and willing to learn but because of the enabling environment provided by tertiary institutions abroad, Nigerian students who attend school abroad always break records,’’ he said.