The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has pushed back against widespread claims suggesting that undergraduates are prohibited from registering for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE), describing the reports as misleading and inaccurate.
In a statement issued Wednesday in Abuja, JAMB’s spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, said the narrative circulating online was a misrepresentation of the board’s official guidelines, driven largely by individuals he described as self-styled education advocates seeking attention and online engagement.
According to the board, the 2026 UTME and Direct Entry advertisement does not bar candidates who are already enrolled in tertiary institutions. Instead, it requires such candidates to clearly declare their matriculation status during the registration process. This requirement, JAMB said, aligns with its statutory responsibility to prevent candidates from holding multiple admissions at the same time.
Benjamin explained that registering for UTME or Direct Entry while already admitted into an institution is not an offence under existing admission laws. The violation arises only when a candidate fails to disclose an existing admission during registration.
He noted that disclosure carries a clear legal implication: once a candidate secures a new admission, any previous admission is automatically nullified. Under Nigeria’s admission framework, no candidate is permitted to hold two admissions concurrently.
JAMB further stated that the disclosure policy has been instrumental in curbing abuses within the system, particularly cases involving matriculated students acting as professional examination candidates.
The board warned that candidates who conceal their admission status risk losing both their old and new admissions if flagged by JAMB’s verification system. It also cautioned members of the public against relying on unofficial interpretations of its policies, urging candidates to consult only approved guidelines released by the board.
