FG Scraps UTME Requirement for NCE, ND Non-Technology Agriculture Programmes
By Sarah Kitka
The Federal Ministry of Education has announced the abolition of 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 approval followed a stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Honourable Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, on April 30, 2026, as part of the Federal Government’s efforts to tackle restrictive admission processes that have contributed to the rising number of out-of-school adolescents, limited access to tertiary education, and low enrolment in teacher education and agricultural manpower development programmes.
In line with the government’s commitment to expanding access to tertiary education, promoting teacher education, strengthening agricultural training, and improving the efficiency, transparency and coordination of admissions into Colleges of Education, Polytechnics and Monotechnics, the following implementation guidelines have been approved for immediate compliance.
However, all prospective candidates will still be required to obtain the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) application form and process their admissions through the JAMB platform and the Central Admission Processing System (CAPS).
The Ministry clarified that all admissions must be conducted strictly through CAPS, while existing minimum admission requirements remain unchanged.
Under the new guidelines, all applicants must upload their O’Level results on the JAMB portal as part of the admission process. Admission letters for the affected programmes will continue to be issued exclusively by JAMB after due verification and compliance with prescribed admission requirements.
As part of measures to regularise previous admissions conducted outside CAPS by Colleges of Education, the Federal Government has also approved a one-time retroactive condonement exercise for NCE students admitted during the 2025/2026 academic session.
The condonement exercise, scheduled to run from June 1 to August 30, 2026, will cover eligible students transitioning 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.
All affected Colleges of Education are required 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 any admission conducted outside the JAMB Central Admission Processing System henceforth will be regarded as illegal and void.
Accordingly, Provosts, Rectors and other principal officers of affected institutions have been directed to immediately stop issuing institutional admission letters to prospective students.
The Ministry further assured the public that periodic monitoring and compliance exercises would be carried out in collaboration with Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, National Commission for Colleges of Education, National Board for Technical Education and other relevant regulatory agencies to ensure full implementation of the policy guidelines.
