JAMB Warns Candidates Against Illegal Admissions Outside CAPS

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has warned candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions against accepting offers processed outside its Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), stressing that such admissions are illegal and will not be recognised.

JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, gave the warning during a question-and-answer session at the 2026 Annual Education Summit organised by the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria in Abuja. He was represented by the Board’s Public Communication Advisor, Dr. Fabian Benjamin.

Oloyede said only candidates whose admissions are processed through CAPS and supported by an official JAMB admission letter would be regarded as duly admitted students.

“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,” he said.

He explained that JAMB’s matriculation list remains the official record of legitimate admissions, warning that candidates whose names do not appear on the list could encounter problems during their academic journey.

The registrar also cautioned tertiary institutions against exceeding their approved admission quotas, noting that admissions beyond the allocated capacity would not be recognised by the Board.

“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 said.

He advised candidates to verify their admission status through CAPS and avoid institutions attempting to bypass the approved admission process.

“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,” he warned.

Oloyede said the introduction of CAPS has improved transparency by allowing candidates to monitor their admission status and make informed choices, particularly for highly competitive courses such as Medicine, Law and Nursing.

He also urged candidates to safeguard their SIM cards, describing them as vital 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,” he said.

Also speaking at the summit, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, said the commission would intensify post-matriculation monitoring to ensure universities comply with their approved admission quotas.

Represented by Malam Lawal Faruk, Ribadu said the NUC would conduct inspections after matriculation exercises to verify admission records and identify institutions that exceed their approved capacities.

“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,” he said.

He added that the commission was considering stricter sanctions through proposed amendments to the NUC Act to curb attempts by institutions to circumvent the CAPS admission process.

Ribadu also disclosed that the NUC has developed national guidelines on micro-credentials to improve graduate employability, while universities would be encouraged to strengthen industrial training, internships, entrepreneurship education and job fairs.

He said efforts were also underway to automate transcript processing in collaboration with universities, while clarifying that the Federal Government’s moratorium on private universities applies only to new licence applications and not institutions already undergoing approval.

On artificial intelligence, Ribadu revealed that the commission had introduced a national AI policy for universities and would begin annual compliance monitoring, with institutions expected to submit implementation reports while lecturers receive capacity-building support.

The summit brought together policymakers, education regulators, university administrators and other stakeholders to discuss reforms aimed at improving quality assurance, admissions, accountability and the overall standard of tertiary education in Nigeria.