By Stella Odueme
The Federal Ministry of Education has cancelled all admissions into the National Certificate in Education (NCE) and degree programmes of the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, for the 2026 academic session over alleged violations of regulatory guidelines.
The Ministry also directed the institute to discontinue all university affiliations and degree-awarding arrangements, stressing that NTI is not authorised to award NCE or university degrees.
In a press statement issued on Saturday by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, the Ministry warned prospective students, parents and the general public against seeking admission into the affected programmes.
It stated that no further admissions into the programmes, whether full-time, part-time or through Distance Learning Studies (DLS), would be permitted.
The Ministry consequently advised members of the public not to apply, accept admission offers or make payments for the affected programmes.
According to the statement, the directive followed violations of the Ministerial Operational Guidelines issued on September 12, 2025.
It explained that NCE admissions must comply with the requirements of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and accreditation standards of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE).
It added that the National Universities Commission (NUC) would notify affected universities and ensure compliance with the directive on NTI's discontinued degree-awarding arrangements.
However, to protect students already enrolled in the programmes, the Ministry said the NCCE would conduct comprehensive accreditation of existing NCE II–IV Distance Learning programmes and study centres across the six geopolitical zones.
It noted that eligible students would be allowed to complete their programmes, subject to accreditation outcomes and other regulatory requirements.
The Ministry reaffirmed that NTI's statutory mandate remained teacher training, retraining, in-service development and continuous professional development.
It said the mandate also covered pedagogical capacity-building and the three-to-six-month Special Abridged Programme for serving teachers with non-Education degrees to acquire the professional competencies required for registration with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), subject to applicable regulations.
The Ministry said the intervention was aimed at protecting students, upholding academic standards and preventing prospective applicants from enrolling in unapproved programmes.
It therefore urged the public to verify the accreditation and admission status of programmes through relevant regulatory authorities and official government channels before making enrolment or payment decisions.