By Dennis Okechukwu
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.
The announcement was made on Monday during the ongoing 2026 policy meeting on admissions held in Abuja.
According to JAMB, candidates applying for education programmes and non-engineering agricultural courses are now exempted from writing the UTME.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, explained that candidates seeking admission into National Certificate in Education programmes with at least four credit passes would no longer need to take the UTME before gaining admission.
He, however, clarified that such applicants must still register with JAMB for proper screening and verification of their credentials before admission letters are issued through the Central Admissions Processing System.
Alausa added that the exemption also applies to candidates seeking admission into National Diploma programmes in non-technology agricultural and agriculture-related courses.
He said the policy was designed to widen access to tertiary education while maintaining the integrity of the admission process.
According to the minister, the new arrangement will reduce the pressure associated with UTME and encourage more students to enrol in teacher education and agriculture programmes, which are considered vital to national development.
The policy marks a major shift in Nigeria’s tertiary admission process, as UTME has traditionally served as the standard entrance examination for admission into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education nationwide.
The annual JAMB policy meeting is convened to determine admission guidelines, including cut-off marks and procedures for tertiary institutions.
The development is expected to create alternative admission pathways for candidates seeking education and agriculture-related courses through institutional screening and credential verification.
In recent years, education and agriculture courses have generally recorded lower admission cut-off marks compared to highly competitive programmes such as Medicine, Law and Engineering.