The Federal Government has announced the removal of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination requirement for candidates seeking admission into Federal Colleges of Education across Nigeria, in a major reform aimed at expanding access to teacher education and technical training.

Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, disclosed the policy shift on Monday during the 2026 Policy Meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board held in Abuja.

According to the minister, candidates applying for programmes in Federal Colleges of Education will no longer be required to sit for the UTME before gaining admission into the institutions.

The exemption, he explained, also covers applicants seeking admission into technology, agriculture, and other related programmes offered by the colleges.

O’Level Requirements Still Mandatory

Despite the removal of the UTME requirement, Alausa clarified that candidates must still possess the required O’Level qualifications for their chosen courses.

He added that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board would continue to oversee screening, documentation, verification, and admission placement processes for applicants.

The minister described the decision as part of broader efforts to improve access to teacher education and strengthen manpower development in critical sectors of the economy.

Major Shift in Nigeria’s Admission System

The policy marks a significant adjustment to Nigeria’s tertiary education admission framework, where UTME has remained the primary entrance examination into universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education since its introduction in 1978.

Over the years, the examination has become highly competitive, with millions of candidates battling annually for limited admission opportunities.

However, education stakeholders have consistently argued that a single admission model may not adequately address the unique realities and academic needs of different tertiary institutions, especially colleges of education.

Low Enrolment Concerns

Federal Colleges of Education were established mainly to train teachers and award the Nigeria Certificate in Education, which remains the minimum qualification for teaching at primary and junior secondary school levels in Nigeria.

Although some colleges now run degree programmes through affiliations with universities, many institutions have continued to struggle with declining student enrolment, inadequate funding, and weak public perception compared to universities and polytechnics.

Reports from previous admission cycles showed that several colleges of education failed to fill their approved admission quotas, raising concerns about the future of teacher training in the country.

Experts Welcome Reform

Education analysts believe the removal of UTME could help reduce financial and procedural barriers preventing many students, particularly those from rural and low-income backgrounds, from pursuing teacher education.

Stakeholders have also linked the reform to Nigeria’s growing shortage of qualified teachers, especially in science, mathematics, vocational studies, and technical education.

The inclusion of agriculture and technology-related programmes in the exemption policy is also seen as part of government efforts to encourage practical skills acquisition, innovation, and economic diversification.

Calls for Improved Funding and Infrastructure

Despite welcoming the policy, stakeholders insist that expanding access alone will not solve the challenges facing colleges of education.

They called on the Federal Government to complement the reform with increased funding, improved infrastructure, better learning facilities, enhanced staff welfare, and stronger institutional support to maintain academic quality.

The policy meeting also featured discussions among education regulators and heads of tertiary institutions on admission benchmarks, institutional capacities, and guidelines for the 2026 admission process.

The latest announcement is expected to spark reactions across the education sector as Nigeria continues reforms aimed at widening access to tertiary education while improving quality and workforce development.

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has identified 2,658 illegal admissions conducted by 17 tertiary institutions during the 2024/2025 academic session.

According to JAMB, the affected institutions bypassed the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), the official platform for regulating and validating all admission offers in Nigeria.

Data released by the board show that Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University recorded the highest number of irregular admissions with 1,847 cases, followed by Osun State University with 492.

Other schools implicated include Abubakar Tafari Ali Polytechnic, the University of Calabar, and Redeemer’s University.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, warned that institutions found guilty of such practices would face strict sanctions, including the withdrawal of accreditation and disciplinary action against involved officials.

JAMB reiterated that all admissions carried out outside the CAPS framework remain invalid and that affected students may lose eligibility for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.

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Under the new directive, no university in Nigeria is permitted to admit candidates who scored below 150 in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

While this threshold applies generally, several leading institutions such as the University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, and Pan-Atlantic University have opted for a higher cut-off score of 200, reflecting their competitive admission processes.

Meanwhile, some newly established private universities proposed lower benchmarks, with a few suggesting 120. However, the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, recommended a more balanced cut-off of 160, encouraging institutions to maintain standards while ensuring access.

The policy decision comes amid ongoing reforms to enhance fairness and quality in the country’s tertiary admissions system.

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The directive was issued at the final briefing of the Computer-Based Test (CBT) centre owners, which was held virtually on Wednesday, 17th April, 2024.

This directive became necessary following the intrusive disposition of some parents during the Board’s previous exercises.

According to the Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, any parent, who disobeys this order, would not only be arrested but his ward would also be disqualified from sitting the examination.

This measure is necessary as it has been discovered over time that many of these intruding parents are facilitators of examination infractions while others have, by their actions, disrupted the Board’s examinations in the past. Some miscreants also disguise as parents to infiltrate the centres to perpetrate all forms of infractions.

Consequently, the Registrar disclosed that the Board has directed security operatives to work with the centres to apprehend any meddlesome parent, who come near the centres.

The Board’s helmsman noted that going by the extant national policy on education, a candidate for the examination must have attained the age of 17 years. Therefore, it is evident that these parents had not allowed their wards to pass through the classes as defined in the document, hence, the determination to follow their wards to the examination venue with the aim of compromising examination officials. At any rate, it is clear to any discerning observer that these parents deserve to be sanctioned as they had obviously ‘smuggled’ underage children into the ranks of those scheduled to sit the examination.

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The Board also availed itself of the opportunity provided by the meeting to advise candidates to jealously guard their personal details, e-mail address, as well as their registration and phone numbers. This advice is issued against the backdrop of some candidates, who might be enticed into patronising any of those fraudulent websites out there. Consequently, the Board informed candidates that if their personal details are found with any of such sites, they would be treated as accomplices and prosecuted.

Furthermore, the Registrar said all arrangements have been concluded for the conduct of the 2024 UTME, which will be held in over 700 CBT centres across the nation.

He disclosed that the Board expects a seamless exercise but it has nevertheless made adequate provision to tackle any technical glitch that might occur in the course of the examination.

He, however, warned that if a session experienced any technical challenge, candidates in subsequent sessions would be allowed to sit their examination as scheduled while the candidates in the challenged session would be rescheduled for the last session for the day or the following day or even further depending on the centre schedules. Candidates are to take note of this so that they will remain calm in the event of any disruption. In this wise, any candidate or parent, who disrupt any subsequent session on account of the failure of his/her session, would be disqualified outright from taking the examination.

Continuing, Prof. Oloyede appealed to centre owners to consider the assignment as a national engagement and not as a purely profit venture. He urged them to expose the bad eggs among them.

The Registrar recalled that hitherto, CBT centres were allowed to register Direct Entry candidates but this practice was discontinued owing to the predilection of some of them to engage in fraudulent acts in spite of the many opportunities that the Board had created for them especially by ensuring that other agencies patronise them. He, therefore, enjoined centre owners to eschew unwholesome acts or risk losing vital opportunities.

He expressed shock over multiple intelligence showing how the CBT centres have been making efforts to compromise the Board’s staff especially with the offer of accommodation. He asked why they would want to do that when they constantly complain that what is paid them is not enough. He said the centres should not hesitate to expose any staff, who ask for such favours as the Board had sufficiently paid its staff for the exercise in line with government regulations adding that any centre which persists in doing so, might have something to hide.

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In conclusion, the Registrar informed the participants that the Board had deployed state-of-the-art technologies to check all manners of infractions, collaborations and other unsavoury acts that are at variance with its code of operations.

Fabian Benjamin, Ph.D.
JAMB PCA

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