The Federal Government has cancelled all admissions into the National Certificate in Education (NCE) and degree programmes of the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, for the 2026 academic session over regulatory breaches involving admissions, accreditation and university affiliations.
The Federal Ministry of Education also directed the institute to discontinue all university affiliations and degree-awarding arrangements, stating that NTI is not authorised to award NCE or university degrees.
The directive, announced in a statement issued on Saturday by the Ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, prohibits further admissions into the affected programmes through full-time, part-time and Distance Learning Studies.
The Ministry consequently advised prospective students, parents and guardians against applying for the programmes, accepting admission offers or making payments, warning that such admissions are not authorised.
According to the Ministry, the decision followed violations of the Ministerial Operational Guidelines issued on September 12, 2025. It said NCE admissions must comply with the requirements of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and accreditation standards set by the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE).
The National Universities Commission (NUC) has also been directed to notify affected universities and ensure compliance with the decision to end NTI’s degree-awarding arrangements.
However, the Ministry said measures would be taken to protect students already enrolled in the institute’s NCE Distance Learning programmes.
It directed the NCCE to conduct comprehensive accreditation of existing NCE II–IV Distance Learning programmes and study centres across the six geopolitical zones. Students found eligible may be allowed to complete their programmes, subject to the outcome of the accreditation exercise and other regulatory requirements.
The Ministry clarified that NTI’s statutory responsibilities remain focused on teacher training, retraining, in-service development and continuous professional development.
These responsibilities include pedagogical capacity-building and the three-to-six-month Special Abridged Programme designed for serving teachers with non-Education degrees to acquire professional competencies required for registration with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), subject to applicable regulations.
It said the intervention was intended to protect students, maintain academic standards and prevent prospective applicants from enrolling in unapproved programmes.
The Ministry urged members of the public to confirm the accreditation and admission status of educational programmes through the relevant regulatory agencies and official government channels before making enrolment or payment decisions.
