The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has issued a stern directive to tertiary institutions across Nigeria, ordering them to reverse all irregular admissions that favoured candidates with lower scores over those with higher rankings.
JAMB's Directive on Admission Irregularities
In a decisive move, JAMB has called out universities and other tertiary institutions for allegedly bypassing candidates with stronger Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) rankings. The board's Public Communication Adviser, Fabian Benjamin, stated that such practices are a direct violation of the established rules governing admissions into Nigeria's higher institutions.
Benjamin delivered this directive in JAMB’s weekly bulletin, which was released on Monday, January 12, 2026, from its headquarters in Abuja. He instructed all implicated institutions to reverse these flawed admissions with immediate effect.
The Three-Tier Admission Framework
JAMB reiterated that admissions must strictly follow the nationally defined three-tier framework. This system prioritises candidates based on:
- Merit (the highest scorers).
- Catchment Area of the institution.
- Educationally Less Developed States (ELDS).
The board emphasised that a candidate's ranking remains the paramount determining factor at every single stage of this process. Benjamin clarified that selection must proceed in descending order of merit, meaning candidates with higher rankings must be chosen first.
"Any situation in which a better-ranked candidate is skipped for a lower-ranked candidate under any of these categories will not be tolerated by the Board," the spokesperson warned.
Context and Related Deadlines
This crackdown comes as JAMB is actively managing the admission cycle. The board had previously announced a crucial deadline for the closure of 2025 admissions for universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. It specifically named eight universities that needed to commence their admissions immediately without further delay.
Furthermore, JAMB has already released the registration guidelines for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Prospective candidates are required to have a National Identification Number (NIN) and a valid email address. The sale of the 2026 UTME forms is scheduled to run from Friday, January 31, 2026, until Saturday, March 8, 2026.
By enforcing these rules, JAMB aims to uphold transparency, fairness, and meritocracy in the highly competitive process of gaining entry into Nigeria's tertiary education system.
