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The Federal Ministry of Education has announced the abolition of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) as an entry requirement for candidates seeking admission into Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) programmes and National Diploma (ND) non-technology agriculture and agriculture-related courses in polytechnics and colleges of agriculture nationwide.
The policy, approved by the Federal Government, takes effect from the 2026/2027 academic session and is aimed at widening access to tertiary education, particularly in teacher training and agricultural manpower development.
According to the ministry in a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Mrs. Folasade Boriwo, on Tuesday, the decision followed a stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, on April 30, 2026, to address what it described as restrictive admission processes that have contributed to the rising number of out-of-school adolescents and low enrollment in key educational and agricultural programmes.
Under the new arrangement, candidates applying for the affected programmes will no longer be required to sit for UTME but must still obtain JAMB application forms and process their admissions through the JAMB Central Admission Processing System (CAPS).
The ministry clarified that existing minimum admission requirements remain unchanged, including the mandatory upload of O’Level results on the JAMB portal before admission can be considered. Admission letters for the affected programmes will also continue to be issued exclusively by JAMB after verification.
As part of the transition, the government approved a one-time retroactive condonement exercise for NCE students admitted outside CAPS during the 2025/2026 session. The exercise, scheduled from June 1 to August 30, 2026, will apply only to eligible Year I and Year II students in colleges of education.
The ministry said all affected institutions must upload records of such students to the JAMB portal within the stipulated period to regularise their admissions.
It further warned that any admission conducted outside CAPS from now on would be considered illegal and void.
Provosts, rectors and other principal officers of the affected institutions have been directed to stop issuing independent institutional admission letters immediately.
The ministry added that compliance with the new policy would be monitored periodically in collaboration with National Commission for Colleges of Education, National Board for Technical Education and JAMB to ensure full implementation.
Officials said the reform is part of broader efforts to improve transparency, efficiency and accountability in tertiary admissions while expanding opportunities for students in critical sectors such as education and agriculture.