By Rosemary Ogbonna
The Federal Ministry of Education has abolished the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) as a requirement for admission into Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) programmes in Colleges of Education, as well as National Diploma (ND) non-technology agriculture and agriculture-related programmes in Polytechnics and Colleges of Agriculture nationwide.
The decision followed a stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, on April 30, 2026, as part of efforts to address restrictive admission processes blamed for the growing number of out-of-school adolescents, limited access to tertiary education and low enrolment in teacher education and agricultural manpower development programmes.
The ministry said the move aligns with the Federal Government’s commitment to expanding access to tertiary education, strengthening teacher education, promoting agricultural training and improving the efficiency, transparency and coordination of admissions into Colleges of Education, Polytechnics and Monotechnics.
It, however, clarified that all prospective candidates would still be required to obtain the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board application form and process their admissions through the board’s Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS).
According to the ministry, all admissions into the affected programmes must continue to be conducted strictly through CAPS, while existing minimum admission requirements remain unchanged.
It added that applicants would also be required to upload their O’Level results on the JAMB portal as part of the admission process, stressing that admission letters for the affected programmes would continue to be issued exclusively by JAMB after due verification and compliance with prescribed requirements.
The ministry further disclosed that the government had approved a one-time retroactive condonement exercise for NCE students admitted outside CAPS into Colleges of Education during the 2025/2026 academic session.
It explained that the exercise, scheduled to run from June 1 to August 30, 2026, would cover eligible students progressing from Year One to Year Two, as well as those moving from Year Two to Year Three at the end of the 2025/2026 session.
The affected Colleges of Education were directed to upload details of eligible students admitted outside CAPS within the stipulated period to ensure proper documentation on the JAMB platform.
The Federal Government reiterated that admissions conducted outside CAPS would henceforth be regarded as illegal and void.
It, therefore, directed Provosts, Rectors and other principal officers of affected institutions to immediately stop issuing institutional admission letters to prospective students.
The ministry assured the public that periodic monitoring and compliance exercises would be carried out in collaboration with the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and other relevant regulatory agencies to ensure full implementation of the policy.
