JAMB Announces New Admission Guidelines for Colleges of Educatio, and Other Programmes in 2026/2027

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has introduced new admission guidelines for candidates seeking admission into Colleges of Education and agriculture-related National Diploma (ND) programmes.

The new policy, which takes effect from the 2026/2027 academic session, was contained in an advisory issued by the Office of the Registrar of JAMB and signed by the Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede.

Under the new guidelines, admission into Colleges of Education will now be strictly through the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) pathway, as direct admission into 100-level and 200-level programmes has been discontinued.

JAMB stated that candidates seeking admission into Colleges of Education must now be processed through the NCE route, adding that no candidate would be allowed to pursue multiple admission routes at the same time.

The Board also announced the suspension of admissions into affiliated programmes in Colleges of Education from the 2026/2027 academic session.

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“From the 2026/2027 session, no admission into 100 or 200 Level is allowed into any College of Education. All entrants are through NCE,” JAMB stated.

The Board explained that candidates applying through the NCE route must complete O’Level result verification with approved examination bodies, including WAEC, NECO, NABTEB, and NBAIS, before registration.

It added that candidates would pay N1,500 for verification of one sitting and N2,000 for two sittings.

JAMB further directed candidates applying through the NCE mode to select only Colleges of Education as their first, second, and third choices during registration.

The Board disclosed that 2026 UTME candidates who selected Colleges of Education would be automatically migrated to their chosen first-choice institutions or agriculture-related non-technology ND programmes.

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Meanwhile, candidates admitted into Colleges of Education through affiliated programmes during the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic sessions without proper JAMB processing have been given options to regularise their admissions.

Affected candidates may transfer to the parent universities of the affiliated programmes, change institutions, or explore other options provided under the new policy.

JAMB noted that the new measures were introduced to strengthen admission procedures, ensure proper verification of qualifications, and improve compliance with approved admission guidelines across Colleges of Education nationwide.

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