The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, or JAMB, has released revised admissions standards for applicants to Colleges of Education and National Diploma programs connected to agriculture. These significant changes will go into effect with the 2026–2027 academic year.
The Office of the Registrar of JAMB published an advice in June 2026 that detailed the development.
The rules state that direct admission to 100-level and 200-level programs has been stopped, and admission to Colleges of Education would now only be possible via the Nigeria Certificate in Education, or NCE, route.
According to a document that Director of Communications Fabian Benjamin handed to reporters, “No admission into 100 or 200 Level is allowed into any College of Education with effect from 2026/7 Session.” Every entry is made via NCE.
Additionally, the board declared that candidates would not be permitted to pursue more than one admission path at once.
“Only one mode of entry would be processed at a time for candidates.”
Additionally, JAMB declared that starting with the 2026–2027 academic year, admissions to related programs at Colleges of Education will no longer be permitted.
The paper further said, “No admission into any affiliated program in any College of Education from 2026/7 Session.”
The board clarified that before finishing registration, individuals registering through the NCE mode must have their O’Level results verified by the appropriate examination authorities, such as WAEC, NECO, NABTEB, and NBAIS.
The guidelines state that candidates must pay N1,500 for one sitting of verification and N2,000 for two sittings.
JAMB added that when registering for the NCE admission process, aspirants must only choose Colleges of Education as their first, second, and third choices.
The board revealed that all 2026 UTME applicants whose colleges of education were selected would be automatically transferred to their first-choice college of education or agricultural-related non-technology ND programs.
Additionally, the guidelines offer a route for applicants who were accepted into Colleges of Education between the academic years 2024–2025 and 2025–2026 but did not complete the necessary JAMB processing.
Options including transferring to parent colleges or changing institutions were provided to current 2026 candidates impacted by connected programs.
After getting O’Level verification codes and finishing registration through authorised centers, these applicants would go through a condonation process, according to JAMB.
According to the board, Direct Entry applicants who chose affiliated Colleges of Education for degree programs in 2026 have three options under the new policy: they can transfer to the parent university of the affiliated program, apply for a change of institution, or keep another option.
According to JAMB, impacted UTME applicants for admission to degree programs offered by associated Colleges of Education may also transfer to NCE programs, change schools, or transfer to second-choice institutions.
According to the board, the new measures are intended to guarantee appropriate admission processing, qualification verification, and adherence to established admission processes throughout all Colleges of Education countrywide.
Professor Is-haq Oloyede, the JAMB Registrar, signed the instructions.
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