The Federal Government has abolished the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) 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 decision was announced by the Federal Ministry of Education in a statement issued on Tuesday, following a stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, on April 30, 2026.
According to the Ministry, the policy forms part of ongoing efforts to remove barriers limiting access to tertiary education, particularly in teacher education and agricultural training programmes.
The new directive will take effect from the 2026/2027 academic session.
Under the new arrangement, candidates applying for NCE and ND non-technology agriculture-related programmes will no longer be required to sit for the UTME before gaining admission. However, applicants must still obtain the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board application form and process their admissions through the JAMB Central Admission Processing System (CAPS).
“The approval followed a stakeholders meeting convened by the Honourable Minister of Education as part of Government’s efforts to address restrictive admission processes which have contributed to the growing number of out-of-school adolescents and limited access to tertiary education opportunities,” the Ministry stated.
The government explained that all existing minimum admission requirements for the affected programmes would remain in place, including the compulsory upload of O’Level results on the JAMB portal before admission consideration.
It further stressed that all admissions must continue to be processed strictly through the JAMB CAPS platform, warning that admissions conducted outside the system would henceforth be regarded as illegal and void.
“The Federal Government wishes to reiterate that, henceforth, any admission conducted outside the JAMB Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) shall be regarded as illegal and void,” the statement added.
The Ministry also directed Provosts, Rectors and principal officers of affected institutions to immediately stop issuing independent admission letters to students.
As part of efforts to regularise previous admissions conducted outside CAPS, the government approved a one-time retroactive condonement exercise for eligible NCE students admitted during the 2025/2026 academic session.
“The condonement exercise will take place from June 1 to August 30, 2026, and will cover eligible students transitioning from Year One to Year Two, as well as those moving from Year Two to Year Three,” the Ministry explained.
Affected Colleges of Education are expected to upload details of eligible students to the JAMB portal within the stipulated period for proper documentation.
The Ministry said periodic monitoring and compliance exercises would be carried out in collaboration with National Commission for Colleges of Education and National Board for Technical Education to ensure full implementation of the new policy.
Reaffirming the government’s position, the Minister said the policy was designed to widen educational opportunities and improve manpower development in key sectors.
“The Federal Government remains committed to expanding access to quality tertiary education, strengthening teacher education and revitalising agricultural training across the country,” the statement noted.