Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji Alausa, has warned tertiary institutions across the country against conducting admissions outside the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), declaring that any admission carried out outside the platform is illegal and will not be recognised by the Federal Government.
The Minister gave the warning on Monday during the 2026 National Policy Meeting on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board in Abuja.
According to him, restoring credibility to Nigeria’s tertiary admission system requires strict compliance with established guidelines and transparency in the admission process.
“Admissions conducted outside this framework are illegal and will not be recognised,” Alausa said. “The era where institutions operated parallel admission systems to the detriment of deserving candidates must come to an end.”
He warned that institutions found violating the policy risk regulatory sanctions, including possible suspension of operational licences where necessary.
The Minister also reaffirmed that 16 years remains the approved minimum age for admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria. He, however, noted that exceptionally gifted candidates may still be considered under clearly defined and strictly monitored conditions.
Alausa further linked ongoing admission reforms to wider education sector reforms being implemented by the Federal Government, including the expansion of digital examination systems, improved education financing through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, and efforts to align tertiary education with national manpower needs.
He also urged universities, polytechnics and colleges of education to strengthen their data management systems to improve planning, infrastructure development and student population tracking.
Earlier, Registrar of JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede, said the Board would continue to strictly enforce admission regulations, insisting that institutions remain solely responsible for initiating admissions through approved procedures.
“In the last ten years, you cannot find where JAMB admitted somebody who was not recommended by the institution,” Oloyede said. “The technology will not allow it.”
The JAMB Registrar disclosed that 41,027 underage candidates applied in 2024 under the category of exceptionally brilliant students, but only 85 eventually met the requirements for admission.
“Only 85 were adjudged qualified and admitted. They are exceptionally brilliant. We must not close the door against exceptional individuals, but the rules must remain,” he stated.
Oloyede also raised concerns over quota manipulation, illegal admissions and attempts by some institutions to compromise the integrity of the admission process.
According to him, some institutions allegedly encourage high-performing candidates to switch courses in order to create opportunities for lower-scoring applicants in competitive programmes such as Medicine and Law.
He further revealed that JAMB uncovered forged UTME result slips linked to international syndicates operating from countries including Cameroon and the United Kingdom.
“Some institutions and agencies abroad now rely on our certification, but UTME is a ranking examination, not an achievement test,” he explained.
Also speaking at the meeting, Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Said Ahmad, called for stricter regulation of honorary titles and academic designations, stressing that academic recognition should reflect genuine achievement and merit.
“If you need to claim something, you need to earn it,” she said. “For someone to claim a position he has not earned is morally wrong.”
The event also attracted international participation, with Sierra Leone’s Deputy Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Sajo Aziz Kamara, stating that his country is studying Nigeria’s centralised admission model with the aim of adopting similar reforms.
Kamara said Sierra Leone’s participation at the policy meeting was part of efforts to learn from Nigeria’s experience in developing a more transparent and coordinated admission framework.
The annual policy meeting monitored by the Nigeria Education News, brought together vice chancellors, rectors, provosts, admissions officers, heads of regulatory agencies and other stakeholders to review admission guidelines and reforms aimed at strengthening transparency, equity and quality assurance across Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
