Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the discontinuation of admissions into affiliated degree programmes offered by colleges of education across Nigeria, beginning from the 2026/2027 academic session.
Gatekeepers News reports that the directive is contained in the board’s newly released NCE/ND Agric Registration Guidelines issued by the Office of the Registrar in June 2026.
The move represents a significant shift in Nigeria’s teacher education framework, making the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) the primary entry route into colleges of education nationwide.
Under the new policy, JAMB stated that no fresh admissions would be permitted into degree programmes run through affiliations between colleges of education and universities.
“With effect from 2026/7 session, no admission into 100 or 200 Level is allowed into any college of education. All entrants are through NCE,” the board stated.
The policy also abolishes direct admission into 100 and 200 levels in colleges of education, requiring all new students to gain admission through the NCE programme.
For decades, affiliated degree programmes enabled colleges of education to award bachelor’s degrees through partnerships with conventional universities. The latest directive effectively ends that arrangement for new admissions.
To ease the transition, JAMB outlined options for candidates who had already selected affiliated colleges of education for degree programmes through the Direct Entry route.
According to the board, affected candidates may change their institution of choice at no cost, transfer to the parent university affiliated with the degree programme, or allow their second-choice institution to be elevated to first-choice status for admission processing.
“A candidate may choose to be moved to the parent university to which the degree programme is affiliated,” JAMB stated.
The board added that candidates seeking to switch institutions had until June 22 to complete the process.
Similarly, candidates who applied for admission into affiliated colleges of education through the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) have been offered three options: change institution, promote their second-choice institution to first choice, or migrate to the NCE programme.
JAMB explained that candidates who opt for the NCE route would be required to obtain an O-Level verification code from the relevant examination body and pay a registration fee of N700 through the JAMB portal.
“The candidate may be moved to the NCE programme of the institution, on the understanding that the choice of the college of education indicates an interest in pursuing the NCE qualification,” the board explained.
The board also introduced mandatory O-Level verification for all NCE applicants, with verification fees fixed at N1,500 for one sitting and N2,000 for two sittings.
JAMB urged colleges of education, Institutional Professional Registration Centres (IPRCs), Professional Registration Centres (PRCs), accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres and its personnel nationwide to familiarise themselves with the new guidelines and ensure full compliance.
“All PRCs, IPRCs and officers of the board are to study the guidelines and ensure strict compliance with the information contained therein,” the Registrar stated.
The guidelines further emphasise that applications for NCE admission would be treated as a deliberate choice by candidates. It added that applicants recommended for NCE admission would automatically have any ongoing UTME or Direct Entry admission process suspended.
“Anyone who chooses NCE and s/he is proposed/recommended would have any ongoing UTME/DE process suspended,” the board stated.
JAMB further disclosed that candidates who applied through the 2026 UTME would have their details automatically migrated to their selected first-choice colleges of education or agric-related non-technology National Diploma programmes where applicable.
The board said the changes are aimed at strengthening the NCE as the foundational qualification for teacher education and streamlining admissions into colleges of education across the country.
