The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has dismissed reports suggesting that candidates already admitted into tertiary institutions are barred from registering for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE).
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, JAMB’s spokesperson, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, described the claims as misleading and a distortion of the Board’s admission guidelines.
Benjamin explained that the 2026 UTME/DE advertisement clearly instructed candidates to declare their matriculation status during registration. He stressed that this directive was in line with JAMB’s mandate to prevent multiple admissions.
“The 2026 UTME/DE advertisement clearly directed candidates to disclose their matriculation status during registration,” Benjamin said.
He noted that it is not an offence for candidates already enrolled in tertiary institutions to register for UTME or DE examinations. However, full disclosure of an existing admission is mandatory.
Benjamin warned that failure to declare an existing admission amounts to an offence under Nigeria’s admission regulations.
“No candidate is legally permitted to hold two admissions concurrently under Nigeria’s admission regulations,” he stated.
He explained that disclosure means once a candidate secures a fresh admission, any previous admission automatically becomes invalid.
The policy of mandatory disclosure, he added, has significantly reduced cases of matriculated students acting as professional examination takers.
Warning Against Misrepresentation
Benjamin criticized what he called “self-styled education advocates” for misrepresenting JAMB’s directives to attract social media traffic.
“This deliberate misrepresentation is being propagated by some unscrupulous self-styled education advocates for parochial interests,” he said.
He urged candidates and parents to rely on official JAMB guidelines and avoid distorted interpretations.
“Members of the public are advised to carefully read official guidelines and avoid accepting distorted interpretations wholesale,” Benjamin added.
Benjamin cautioned that candidates who fail to disclose their matriculation status risk losing both admissions if detected by JAMB’s system.
He emphasized that mandatory disclosure expedites appropriate action whenever such candidates are apprehended.
The Board advised prospective candidates to seek accurate information from authorized sources to avoid jeopardizing their chances of admission.
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