The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced sweeping changes to the admission process for Colleges of Education, ending direct admission into 100-level and 200-level programmes from the 2026/2027 academic session.
Under the new policy, all candidates seeking admission into Colleges of Education must now enter exclusively through the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) programme.
The changes were contained in a new admission advisory issued by the Office of the Registrar and released by JAMB’s Director of Communications, Fabian Benjamin.
According to the new guidelines, direct admission into 100-level and 200-level programmes in Colleges of Education has been discontinued.
“With effect 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 also announced that candidates can only be processed through one mode of admission at a time, eliminating multiple admission routes.
JAMB further 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 said the move is part of efforts to streamline admissions and ensure compliance with approved admission procedures across tertiary institutions.
Under the revised admission guidelines, candidates applying for admission through the NCE route must complete O’Level result verification through the appropriate examination bodies before registration.
The verification applies to results issued by:
- West African Examinations Council (WAEC)
- National Examinations Council (NECO)
- National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB)
- National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS)
JAMB fixed the verification fees at:
- ₦1,500 for one sitting.
- ₦2,000 for two sittings.
The board also directed that candidates applying through the NCE admission process must select only Colleges of Education as their first, second and third-choice institutions during registration.
In addition, all 2026 UTME candidates who selected Colleges of Education will automatically be migrated to their chosen first-choice College of Education or agric-related non-technology National Diploma (ND) programme.
JAMB outlined transitional arrangements for candidates affected by the policy changes.
Candidates admitted into Colleges of Education during the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic sessions without proper JAMB processing will undergo a condonement process after obtaining O’Level verification codes and completing registration at approved centres.
For candidates affected by the discontinuation of affiliated degree programmes, JAMB said they may:
- Transfer to the parent university of the affiliated programme.
- Apply for a change of institution.
- Migrate to the NCE programme where applicable.
The same options are available to Direct Entry and UTME candidates who previously selected affiliated Colleges of Education for degree programmes.
According to JAMB, the new admission guidelines are designed to strengthen admission integrity by ensuring proper processing, qualification verification, and compliance with approved admission procedures across Colleges of Education nationwide.
The guidelines were signed by the Registrar of JAMB, Professor Segun Aina.
