JAMB WARNS CANDIDATES AGAINST ILLEGAL ADMISSIONS AS NUC MOVES TO CURB OVER-ENROLMENT
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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has warned admission seekers against accepting admissions offered outside its Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), saying candidates who obtain “backdoor” admissions risk losing recognition as legitimate students.
The warning came as the National Universities Commission (NUC) announced plans to intensify nationwide monitoring of universities to curb illegal admissions beyond approved carrying capacities and enforce compliance with its newly introduced Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy.
The positions were made known during a question-and-answer session at the 2026 Annual Education Summit of the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
Speaking through JAMB’s Public Communication Adviser, Dr Fabian Benjamin, the Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, said no admission is valid unless it is processed through CAPS and accompanied by an official JAMB admission letter.
He warned that institutions admitting candidates outside the approved process were acting illegally and that such candidates risk exclusion from JAMB’s official matriculation list.
“We have made it abundantly clear. For you to be regarded as duly admitted, you must print your JAMB admission letter. If an institution gives you admission through the back door without JAMB documentation, that is an illegal admission,” he said.
Oloyede explained that candidates who accept admission through CAPS and print their admission letters are automatically captured on JAMB’s matriculation list, which serves as the official record of legally admitted students.
He stressed that institutions must not admit students beyond their approved carrying capacities, warning that any admission above the approved quota would be regarded as illegal.
“If a programme has approval to admit 50 students, it cannot admit 51. That extra candidate becomes an illegal admission because the name will not appear on the matriculation list,” he said.
The JAMB Registrar urged candidates to verify the legitimacy of their admissions, insisting that applicants who accept unauthorised admissions do so at their own risk.
“It is not JAMB’s responsibility to fight such battles. Candidates must ensure their admissions are processed through CAPS. Otherwise, they stand the risk of being stranded,” he warned.
He added that CAPS has made the admission process more transparent by enabling candidates to monitor their competitiveness, compare scores and make informed choices about institutions and courses.
According to him, competitive programmes such as Medicine, Law and Nursing require higher scores because of high demand, while candidates with lower scores can improve their chances by considering less competitive courses or institutions.
The Registrar also advised candidates to safeguard their SIM cards, describing them as critical identity tools in Nigeria’s computer-based examination system.
He warned against purchasing pre-registered SIM cards or allowing SIM swaps, saying such practices could expose candidates to identity theft and examination fraud.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, represented by Malam Lawal Faruk, said the Commission would commence stricter post-matriculation monitoring to ensure universities comply with approved admission quotas.
According to him, NUC officials will inspect universities after every matriculation exercise, scrutinising admission records and matriculation lists to detect institutions admitting students beyond their approved capacities.
“We are determined to stop the abuse. After every matriculation exercise, NUC will visit universities to verify that institutions have not exceeded their approved admission quotas,” he said.
Ribadu acknowledged that although JAMB’s CAPS regulates admissions based on approved quotas, some institutions still circumvent the system, adding that the Commission was considering stronger sanctions as part of ongoing amendments to the NUC Act.
On graduate employability, he said universities would strengthen industrial attachments, internships and entrepreneurship education, while technology would be deployed to ensure students genuinely participate in practical training.
He also disclosed that the Commission had developed national guidelines on micro-credentials to enable students acquire additional industry-relevant skills beyond their academic programmes.
Ribadu further revealed that universities would be encouraged to organise regular job fairs to connect students with prospective employers before graduation.
On transcript processing, he said the Commission was working with universities to automate transcript requests while maintaining institutional autonomy over the certification of academic records.
He clarified that the Federal Government’s moratorium on private universities applies only to fresh licence applications and does not affect institutions already undergoing the approval process.
Addressing the use of Artificial Intelligence, Ribadu said the NUC had issued a national AI policy for universities and would begin annual compliance monitoring to ensure institutions adopt the framework and promote the ethical use of AI in teaching, learning and research.
He added that universities would be required to submit annual reports on the implementation of the AI policy, while lecturers would receive capacity-building support to effectively manage AI-driven learning environments.
The summit brought together education stakeholders, policymakers, regulators and journalists to review ongoing reforms and discuss strategies for improving quality assurance, admissions, innovation and accountability in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.
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