The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has announced that candidates seeking admission into Education programmes and Agriculture-related non-engineering courses will no longer be required to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The decision was disclosed on Monday during the board’s ongoing 2026 policy meeting on admissions. According to JAMB, the new policy is aimed at creating alternative admission pathways for candidates applying for the affected courses.
The development marks a major shift in Nigeria’s tertiary admission process, where UTME has traditionally remained compulsory for admission into universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
The exemption is expected to affect candidates applying for Education courses and Agriculture programmes outside engineering disciplines, while institutions may adopt internal screening and qualification-based assessments for admissions.
The move comes amid concerns over declining interest in Education and Agriculture courses compared to competitive programmes such as Medicine, Law, and Engineering.
JAMB’s annual policy meeting is also expected to determine cut-off marks and other admission guidelines for the 2026 academic session.
All rights reserved ©2026 CDA News Nigeria.
