The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced sweeping changes to the admission process for Colleges of Education and agric-related National Diploma (ND) programmes, with the new guidelines set to take effect from the 2026/2027 academic session.
The new policy was contained in an advisory issued by the Office of the Registrar and made available through JAMB’s Director of Communications, Fabian Benjamin.
Under the revised guidelines, admission into Colleges of Education will now be strictly through the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) pathway, effectively ending direct admission into 100-level and 200-level programmes.
According to JAMB, all prospective students seeking admission into Colleges of Education must now enter through the NCE route.
“With effect from 2026/2027 Session, no admission into 100 or 200 Level is allowed into any College of Education. All entrants are through NCE,” the board stated.
The examination body also announced that candidates will only be permitted to process one admission route at a time.
“Candidates would be processed for only one mode of entry at a time,” the guideline added.
In another major change, JAMB disclosed that admissions into affiliated degree programmes run by Colleges of Education will no longer be permitted from the 2026/2027 academic session.
The board stated that all candidates applying through the NCE admission process must first undergo O’Level result verification through the relevant examination bodies, including WAEC, NECO, NABTEB and NBAIS.
Under the verification process, candidates will pay ₦1,500 for verification of a single sitting result and ₦2,000 for verification involving two sittings.
JAMB further directed that candidates applying through the NCE route must select only Colleges of Education as their first, second and third choice institutions during registration.
The board also revealed that all 2026 UTME candidates who selected Colleges of Education would automatically be migrated to their chosen first-choice College of Education or agric-related non-technology ND programme.
For candidates admitted into Colleges of Education during the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic sessions without proper JAMB processing, the board introduced a condonement process to regularise their admissions.
Affected candidates will be required to obtain O’Level verification codes and complete registration through approved centres before their admissions can be properly recognised.
JAMB also outlined options for candidates affected by the discontinuation of affiliated degree programmes.
According to the board, Direct Entry candidates who selected affiliated Colleges of Education may apply for a change of institution, transfer to the parent university overseeing the programme, or choose other options provided under the new policy.
Similarly, UTME candidates seeking admission into affiliated degree programmes will be allowed to change institutions, move to second-choice institutions or migrate to NCE programmes.
JAMB explained that the new measures are aimed at strengthening admission integrity, improving qualification verification processes and ensuring compliance with approved admission procedures across Colleges of Education nationwide.
The guidelines were signed by JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede.
