By PixelPulse Newsroom • May 8, 2026 • 3 min read

In a major shake-up of Nigeria’s university admission process, the Federal Government has announced that candidates seeking to study education-related courses and certain agriculture programmes will no longer be required to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

The new policy, which will take effect from the 2026/2027 academic session, was unveiled on Monday during the annual admission policy meeting organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board in Abuja.

Under the new arrangement, students applying for education courses and non-engineering agriculture programmes can now gain admission without writing the UTME.

Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed during the meeting that candidates with at least four credit passes in relevant subjects would qualify for admission into Colleges of Education even without taking the examination.

Despite the exemption, affected candidates will still be required to register with JAMB for proper documentation and admission processing.

According to the Minister, applicants’ academic records would still undergo screening, verification and certification before admission letters are issued through the Central Admissions Processing System, popularly known as CAPS.

“Candidates seeking admissions into Education Programmes and Agriculture non-Engineering Courses are now exempted from UTME,” the examination body stated.

The annual policy meeting organised by JAMB is traditionally used to determine admission procedures, cut-off marks and other guidelines for universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country.

Although some categories of candidates, including Direct Entry applicants, already enjoy exemptions from the UTME process, the latest decision is being regarded as one of the most far-reaching changes introduced into Nigeria’s tertiary admission system in recent years.

The development is expected to significantly reshape admission processes for education and agriculture programmes while opening alternative pathways into tertiary education outside the traditional UTME route.