JAMB discards admissions into related degree programmes in colleges of education
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has officially put an end to gaining admission into affiliated degree programmes offered by colleges of education.
It was officially documented in the newly released registration guidelines for the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) and Agriculture Courses in National Diploma, as issued by the office of the JAMB Registrar.
In accordance with the guidelines, admission won't be granted into any affiliated programme in any college of Education from the 2026/2027 session under the new policy.
The board cancelled direct admission into 100 or 200 levels in colleges of education, mandating that all new candidates have to come through the NCE Programme. “With effect from the 2026/2027 session, no admission into the 100 or 200 level is allowed into any college of education. All entrants are through NCE,” as stated in the policy document. However, the admission and matriculation body makes an exception for candidates who had already selected affiliated colleges of education for degree programmes through direct entry (DE) to alleviate the impact. The board said the concerned applicants may either apply for a change of institution at no cost or transfer to the parent university to which the degree programme is affiliated. JAMB said candidates could also update their second-choice institution to their first choice for admission processing, directing that those willing to switch institutions must complete the process before June 22. “A candidate may choose to be moved to the parent university to which the degree programme is affiliated,” the board acclaimed. The board emphasized that candidates seeking 100-level admission into affiliated colleges of education through the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) have been presented with three options: change institutions, elevate their second-choice institution to first choice, or migrate to the NCE programme. It stated that candidates who opt for the NCE route would be required to obtain an O-level verification code from the relevant examination body and pay only N700 as a registration fee on the JAMB portal. “The candidate may be moved to the NCE programme of the institution, on the understanding that the choice of the college of education indicates an interest in pursuing the NCE qualification,” JAMB said. The guidelines also noted that every application for NCE admission is a deliberate choice, adding that candidates recommended for NCE admission would have any ongoing UTME or direct entry admission process suspended. “Anyone who chooses NCE and is proposed/recommended would have any ongoing UTME/DE process suspended,” the board said. JAMB said the details of candidates who have already applied for a change of institution through the 2026 UTME mode would be automatically migrated to their chosen first-choice college of education or agriculture-related non-technology (ND) programmes. The board added that it had introduced a mandatory O’ level verification for all NCE applicants, pegging the verification fee at N1,500 for one sitting and N2,000 for two sittings. In March, the federal government announced the exemption of candidates seeking admission into colleges of education from writing the UTME. Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, said candidates with four credit passes in relevant subjects are allowed to apply to the colleges of education without sitting for the UTME.