The Federal Government has announced the removal of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) as a requirement for students seeking admission into Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) and agriculture-related non-engineering programmes. This policy change was revealed by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, during JAMB's 2026 policy meeting held in Abuja.
New Admission Requirements
Under the new guidelines, prospective students for NCE programmes will only need a minimum of four O-level credits in their school certificate to qualify for admission. Similarly, candidates applying for agriculture-related non-engineering courses are also exempted from sitting the UTME. This move is designed to streamline the admission process and reduce the administrative burden on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
JAMB processed over 2.2 million candidates for the 2026 UTME, reflecting a 10.5 per cent increase from the 2.03 million who took the exam in 2025. The growing number of candidates has placed significant strain on the board's logistics, infrastructure, and oversight capacity. By removing NCE-bound and agriculture-related non-engineering candidates from the UTME pipeline, the government aims to manage this load more effectively.
The NCE is a professional teaching qualification awarded by colleges of education across Nigeria. It is a three-year programme designed primarily to train teachers for primary and junior secondary schools. For many students, the UTME requirement has been an unnecessary bureaucratic hurdle with limited relevance to their career path. The new policy aligns the entry requirements for these programmes with those already in place for other non-degree tertiary programmes, where O-level results serve as the primary benchmark for eligibility.
JAMB has not yet issued additional guidance on how the new admissions process will be administered for these candidates, including the board's role in coordinating placements into colleges of education moving forward. The policy is expected to ease pressure on the examination system while providing clearer pathways for students pursuing teaching and agriculture-related careers.
