The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has announced that candidates seeking admission into Education programmes and Agriculture-related non-engineering courses in Colleges of Education and Polytechnics will no longer be required to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The board disclosed this in a post shared on its official X handle on Monday during its ongoing policy meeting on admissions.
Speaking at the 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions to Tertiary Institutions in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, explained that candidates applying for the National Certificate in Education (NCE) programme with at least four credit passes would now be exempted from writing the UTME.
However, the minister clarified that such candidates must still register with JAMB, while their credentials would undergo screening, verification, and certification before admission letters are issued through the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS).
Alausa further revealed that the exemption also extends to candidates seeking admission into National Diploma programmes in non-technology agricultural and agriculture-related courses.
According to him, the policy is aimed at expanding access to tertiary education while maintaining admission standards across institutions.
He stated that the initiative is expected to reduce pressure associated with the UTME process and encourage more students to pursue teacher education and agricultural studies, which he described as vital sectors for national development.
The minister noted that the policy represents a shift from Nigeria’s long-standing admission system, where the UTME traditionally served as the compulsory entry examination for universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
JAMB’s annual policy meeting is usually held to determine admission guidelines, including cut-off marks and procedures for tertiary institutions nationwide.
The new arrangement is expected to provide alternative admission pathways for candidates applying for education and non-engineering agriculture courses, with institutional screening and academic qualifications serving as substitutes for the UTME in some cases.
Education and Agriculture courses have historically recorded lower admission cut-off marks compared to highly competitive programmes such as Medicine, Law, and Engineering.