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LAGOS – The annual Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Policy Meeting is a national platform where key education stakeholders in Nigeria set the official guidelines, regulations, and minimum national cut-off marks for admissions into tertiary institutions.
It officially marks the start of the admission process for the upcoming academic year. The 2026 meeting, chaired by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, also had in attendance Heads of all tertiary institutions (Vice-Chancellors, Rectors, and Provosts); Regulatory bodies like the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE); JAMB officials and various other education stakeholders.
Importance Of PM
During this meeting, we will make critical decisions on the minimum cut-off marks and the minimum tolerable Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) score. Individual institutions can set their scores higher than this benchmark, but not lower. The meeting also determines the general rules for admissions, including how the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) will be utilised, the enforcement of the minimum age limit for entry into tertiary institutions, and unveiling new governmental directives for the education sector, Dr Alausa.
The all-important meeting featured the National Tertiary Admissions Performance-Merit Awards (NATAP-M) to recognise and reward institutions that strictly adhere to admission guidelines.
A major milestone for the 2026 Policy Meeting is the symbolic end of tenure for Professor Ishaq Oloyede as the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), having been in office since 2016.
During the Policy Meeting, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, said, “This is the last policy meeting you will be holding. He has been here for ten years. He has done a lot of good things. Ten years is a long time, but he is not tired. Notwithstanding… we thank you very much. Definitely, you are not tired. We will just give you a resting period to relax a bit, and then we will just call you back,”
Over One Million Admission threshold
In the 48 years of JAMB, the board, for the first time, admitted more than one million candidates into its tertiary institutions in a single cycle. This milestone arrived alongside even more measures that will allow easier access to post-school education.
According to the JAMB Registrar, the crossing of the one-million thresholds is based on figures of the 2025-26 academic year that started in September last year and follows an aggressive period of policy liberalisation. Last year, the government relaxed ordinary-level entry requirements, thereby pushing admissions from roughly 770,000 to 1.1 million in the current 2025-26 cycle.
The convener of the Policy Meeting and Minister of Education, Alausa, announced the removal of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) requirement for candidates seeking entry into colleges of education and agriculture-related programmes in polytechnics.
“This year alone, with the changes we’re making through eliminating the UTME requirement for colleges of education and non-technology agricultural-related courses in our polytechnics and monotechnics, we would increase the number of people being admitted into tertiary institutions to 1.5 million,” Alausa told delegates.
Though stakeholders said the measure could add another 500,000 enrolments into the National Certificate of Education and Agriculture-related programmes. Experts said the waiver will help address: shortage of qualified teachers in schools, insufficient agricultural professionals, food production challenges, low youth participation in agriculture and gaps in research and innovation.
COEASU Kicks
Responding to the elimination of the UTME requirement for colleges of education and non-technology agricultural-related courses in our polytechnics and monotechnics, the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has distanced its members from the waiver, saying the union was not allowed to contribute to the policy before it was announced.
COEASU National President, Dr. Lawan Bazza, said the union did not object to expanding enrolment in principle, but that the manner in which the decision was taken violated basic standards of stakeholder engagement.
Before the current waiver arising from the 2026 meeting, the Federal Ministry of Education announced the commencement and implementation of the Dual Mandate Policy across all Federal Colleges of Education (FCOEs), following the enactment of the Federal Colleges of Education Act, 2023.
The legislation, signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, empowers FCOEs to concurrently award the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) and Bachelor’s Degrees in Education—marking a significant milestone in Nigeria’s teacher education reform.
The enactment is recording huge success as accredited Federal Colleges of Education for the programme have recorded unprecedented growth in their 2025/2026 enrolment figures.
The Dual Mandate Policy represents not just a reform but a revolution in teacher preparation—enabling FCOEs to offer both NCE and Bachelor’s degrees. This initiative empowers institutions, broadens access, and enhances the quality of classroom instruction across Nigeria.
A student who earns an NCE may need approximately two additional years to convert it to a degree, removing the need to transfer to a university affiliate.
Dr. Alausa described the change as opening a direct pathway. “Anyone who goes to any of our Federal Colleges of Education can now continue for another two years for their bachelor’s degree,” he said.
Next to the UTME waiver, the meeting ratified a significant change to the polytechnic admission ratio. The split between technology and non-technology programmes, previously 70:30, has been revised to 80:20. This shift aims to concentrate polytechnic intakes more heavily in technical disciplines.
Admission Deadline
Though the Board has set 150 as the minimum cut-off mark for universities and 100 for polytechnics nationwide, the meeting also fixed October 31 and December 31, 202,6 as deadlines for admission.
The meeting also announced four weeks for candidates to accept admission offers or risk withdrawal or reassignment.
In all, the 2026 Policy Meeting came with far-reaching decisions and pronouncements calling for increased funding for the education sector, further multiply enrolment figures and put pressure on existing learning infrastructure in public tertiary institutions.
