JAMB: Already-Admitted Students Can Register for 2026 UTME, Must Declare Status
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has stated that candidates already enrolled in tertiary institutions are free to register for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE), provided they declare their current matriculation status, warning that failure to do so risks forfeiture of both the existing and any new admission secured.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Board’s Public Communication Adviser, Dr Fabian Benjamin, JAMB accused certain “self-styled education advocates” of deliberately distorting its guidelines for the 2026 registration exercise, thereby creating unnecessary confusion among candidates and parents.
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Benjamin described the misrepresentations as a recurring pattern at the start of every registration cycle, noting that many of those spreading the false narratives do not read or properly understand the official guidelines before rushing to social media to attract traffic for personal gain.
“For the avoidance of doubt and for record purposes, and in line with its statutory mandate to prevent multiple matriculations, the Board directed that all candidates registering for the 2026 UTME/DE must disclose their matriculation status, where applicable,” the statement read.
He stressed that registering for the examination while still enrolled in an institution is not an offence. However, non-disclosure of such status is treated as a serious violation.
“Disclosure simply means that once a candidate secures admission through the latest registration, the former admission automatically ceases to subsist. The law is explicit that no candidate is permitted to hold two admissions concurrently,” Benjamin explained.
The adviser further revealed that recent investigations have uncovered cases of matriculated students acting as professional examination takers, adding that mandatory disclosure enables the Board to take swift action when such individuals are caught.
Although JAMB’s systems can detect prior matriculation, candidates who fail to declare their status still face the possibility of losing both opportunities.
The Board urged parents, candidates, and the public to rely only on official guidelines and disregard distorted interpretations circulated by individuals seeking personal benefit.
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Established in 1978, JAMB has long served as the central body responsible for conducting entrance examinations and coordinating admissions into Nigeria’s universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. Over the decades, one of its core mandates has been to curb irregularities, including the practice of candidates holding multiple admissions simultaneously—a problem that historically led to wasted admission slots and denied deserving applicants opportunities.
To address this, JAMB introduced stricter measures over the years, including the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) in 2017, which automated and centralised the admission process to enhance transparency and prevent double matriculation. The current emphasis on disclosure builds directly on these longstanding efforts to maintain the integrity of the admission system.
Registration for the 2026 UTME officially opened on January 26, amid other reforms aimed at strengthening examination processes. Earlier, JAMB announced that only Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres equipped for remote monitoring would be accredited for registration and the examination itself.
The policy, summarised as “No Vision, No Registration, No UTME,” is designed to eliminate registration infractions and restore public confidence in the Board’s operations.