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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has released fresh admission guidelines for the 2026/27 academic session, introducing compulsory O’Level verification and tighter registration rules. The changes affect candidates seeking places in tertiary institutions across Nigeria.
What the New Admission Guidelines Require
Under the framework, verification of O’Level results is now mandatory for all candidates. Results from WAEC, NECO, NABTEB and NBAIS must be confirmed, with applicants required to obtain verification codes before they can complete registration. The board has set fees of N1,500 to verify one sitting and N2,000 for two sittings.
Registration is also tied more firmly to identity. Applicants must first generate a profile code using their National Identification Number (NIN) before creating a profile on the JAMB portal and making the required payments. Candidates then proceed to accredited centres to select institutions, upload results, submit documents and complete biometric capture.
Changes for Colleges of Education
The guidelines confirm that admission into Colleges of Education will now run strictly through the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) route. Direct admission into 100-level and 200-level degree programmes in these colleges has been discontinued, and admissions into affiliated degree programmes are no longer allowed from the 2026/2027 session.
Candidates who had applied for affiliated degree programmes during the cycle have been given transition options. They can transfer to parent universities, switch institutions, choose alternative schools or return to NCE programmes, depending on their preferences and qualifications.
No Multiple Routes at Once
The board has also barred applicants from processing more than one admission route at the same time. The rule is designed to reduce double registration and the confusion that follows when candidates try to keep several options open across different schemes.
Taken together, the measures aim to clean up the process, cut fraud around fake results and ensure that every candidate is properly identified before being considered for a place.
Why the Admission Guidelines Matter
Millions of young Nigerians compete for limited university and polytechnic places each year, and result fraud has long undermined trust in the system. Mandatory O’Level verification and NIN-linked profiles are meant to make sure admissions go to genuine, qualified candidates.
Education officials say the tighter checks will protect honest applicants and strengthen the integrity of the process. They argue that linking every profile to a verified identity makes it far harder for impostors or result-forgery rings to game the system at the expense of deserving students.
Advice for Candidates
Officials advise applicants to read the rules carefully, verify their results early and complete each step in the correct order to avoid delays when registration windows open. Candidates are also urged to use only accredited centres and the official JAMB portal, and to keep their NIN details handy before they begin.
Parents and schools have a role too, helping students gather documents, confirm their exam records and avoid last-minute rushes that lead to costly mistakes. Candidates are also warned to ignore touts who promise shortcuts, since the new identity checks make such schemes both pointless and risky. With clearer requirements in place, careful and honest preparation is now the surest route to a smooth admission process.
