•JAMB candidates
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has warned candidates against accepting admissions offered outside its Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), declaring that such admissions were illegal and may leave affected students without official recognition.
The warning came as the National Universities Commission (NUC) announced tougher measures to curb illegal admissions beyond approved carrying capacities in universities and enforce compliance with its newly introduced Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy, reports New Telegraph.
Speaking during an interactive session at the 2026 Annual Education Summit organised by the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) yesterday in Abuja, the Board’s Public Communication Advisor, Dr Fabian Benjamin, said only admissions processed through CAPS and backed by an official JAMB admission letter were valid.
Fabian warned candidates against accepting “Backdoor” admissions from tertiary institutions, stressing that anyone admitted outside the approved process risks being excluded from JAMB’s official matriculation list.
He said: “We have made it abundantly clear. For you to be regarded as duly admitted, you must print your JAMB admission letter. If an institution gives you admission through the back door without JAMB documentation, that is an illegal admission.”
According to him, once a candidate accepts admission through CAPS and prints the JAMB admission letter, the candidate’s details are automatically transferred to the Board’s matriculation list, which serves as the official record of legally admitted students.
Fabian also reminded institutions that they cannot admit candidates beyond their approved carrying capacities, warning that any admission above the approved quota would not be recognised.
“If a programme has approval to admit 50 students, it cannot admit 51. That extra candidate becomes an illegal admission because the name will not appear on the matriculation list.”
He added that candidates also have a responsibility to verify the legitimacy of their admissions rather than relying solely on institutions.
“It is not JAMB’s responsibility to fight such battles. Candidates must ensure their admissions are processed through CAPS. Otherwise, they stand the risk of being stranded.”
The Board’s spokesperson also urged candidates to safeguard their SIM cards, describing them as critical identity tools in Nigeria’s computer-based examination system.
“Your SIM card is your identity. Once you lose control of it, you may lose everything linked to your identity. Candidates must protect their SIM cards because they are now unique identifiers.”
On admission transparency, Fabian noted that CAPS has made the admission process more open by allowing candidates to monitor their competitiveness, compare scores and make informed choices on institutions and courses, especially for highly competitive programmes such as Medicine, Law and Nursing.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, represented by Malam Lawal Faruk, announced that the Commission would intensify post-matriculation monitoring of universities to identify institutions admitting students beyond their approved quotas.
He said NUC officials would inspect universities after every matriculation exercise to scrutinise admission and matriculation records.
“We are determined to stop the abuse. After every matriculation exercise, NUC will visit universities to verify that institutions have not exceeded their approved admission quotas.”
Ribadu disclosed that the Commission is also considering stiffer sanctions through the ongoing amendment of the NUC Act to discourage illegal admissions.
On Artificial Intelligence, he said the Commission had already issued a national AI policy for universities and would commence annual compliance monitoring to ensure institutions adopt the framework and promote the ethical use of AI in teaching, learning and research.
He added that universities would be required to submit yearly implementation reports, while lecturers would receive capacity-building support to effectively manage AI-driven learning environments.
The NUC boss further disclosed that the Commission was working with universities to automate transcript requests to reduce delays, while encouraging institutions to strengthen entrepreneurship education, organise regular job fairs and implement its newly developed national guidelines on micro-credentials to improve graduate employability.
He clarified that the federal government’s moratorium on private universities applies only to fresh applications for licences and does not affect institutions already undergoing the approval process.
