Thousands of students currently studying in Nigerian universities could face uncertainty over the validity of their admissions after the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) reaffirmed that any admission secured outside its Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) is illegal and will not receive official recognition.
The warning was delivered during the 2026 Annual Education Summit organised by the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) in Abuja, where JAMB stressed that institutions must strictly comply with the Board’s admission procedures or risk having such admissions declared invalid.
Speaking on behalf of the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, the Board’s Public Communication Adviser, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, stated that universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and other tertiary institutions have no legal authority to admit candidates outside the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS).
According to him, every admission into a Nigerian tertiary institution must pass through JAMB’s approved admission platform before it can be regarded as valid. He explained that candidates are expected to accept their admission through CAPS and print their official JAMB admission letter, which automatically places their names on JAMB’s matriculation list.
Benjamin quoted the Registrar as saying that candidates who receive admission offers directly from institutions without corresponding JAMB documentation should understand that such admissions have no legal backing.
“We have consistently made this position clear. A candidate is only recognised as duly admitted after printing the JAMB admission letter. Any institution that offers admission through the back door without processing it through JAMB has granted an illegal admission,” Oloyede said.
The Registrar also issued a fresh warning to higher institutions against admitting students beyond the admission quotas approved for each academic programme. According to him, every institution is assigned a specific carrying capacity, and exceeding that limit amounts to a violation of JAMB regulations.
He explained that once an institution admits more candidates than its approved quota permits, every excess admission automatically becomes invalid because such candidates will not appear on the Board’s official matriculation list.
“If a department is authorised to admit only 50 students, it cannot lawfully admit 51. Any additional candidate beyond the approved number becomes an illegal admission because the person’s name will not appear on the matriculation list,” he explained.
JAMB therefore urged prospective and newly admitted students to always verify the status of their admission on the CAPS portal before proceeding with registration. The Board also advised candidates to be cautious of institutions that attempt to bypass the official admission process, warning that such shortcuts could jeopardise their academic future.
Beyond admissions, Professor Oloyede also raised concerns over the growing importance of SIM card security in JAMB’s computer-based examination system. He described registered SIM cards as critical identity tools used throughout the admission process.
According to him, candidates who lose access to their registered SIM cards expose themselves to identity-related risks that could affect their admission records and other examination services.
“Your SIM card is now your identity. Once you lose control of it, you may also lose access to everything connected to your identity. Candidates must therefore protect their registered SIM cards because they now serve as unique identifiers,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the National Universities Commission (NUC) announced that it is introducing stricter post-matriculation monitoring exercises across Nigerian universities to ensure institutions comply with their approved admission limits.
The Commission disclosed that inspection teams would visit universities after every matriculation exercise to compare the number of admitted students with the officially approved quotas for each programme.
According to an NUC official, the new compliance exercise is part of ongoing efforts to eliminate admission irregularities and promote accountability within the nation’s higher education system.
“We are determined to end this abuse. After every matriculation ceremony, the NUC will inspect universities to confirm that institutions have not exceeded their approved admission quotas,” the official said.
In addition to tightening admission monitoring, the Commission revealed plans to strengthen oversight of Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption across Nigerian universities. The move, according to the Commission, is intended to encourage responsible and ethical use of AI in teaching, learning, academic research, and institutional administration as technology continues to reshape higher education.
