Nigerian Government Waives UTME Requirement For Education, Agriculture Candidates

The Nigerian government has announced that candidates seeking admission into education-related courses and non-engineering agriculture programmes will no longer be required to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The new policy is expected to take effect from the 2026/2027 academic admission cycle and was unveiled during the annual admission policy meeting organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Abuja on Monday.
Speaking at the meeting, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said candidates with at least four credit passes in relevant subjects would now be eligible to apply for admission into Colleges of Education without writing the UTME.
According to him, affected applicants would still be required to register with JAMB for documentation and admission processing through the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS).
He explained that candidates’ academic credentials would undergo screening, verification and certification before admission letters are issued in line with existing regulations.
Confirming the development, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board stated in a message posted on its official X handle that “Candidates seeking admissions into Education Programs and Agriculture non-Engineering Courses are now exempted from UTME.”
The annual policy meeting organised by JAMB is traditionally used to determine admission guidelines, cut-off marks and procedures for universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country.
The latest decision is considered one of the broadest exemptions introduced into Nigeria’s tertiary admission process in recent years and is expected to create alternative pathways into higher education outside the conventional UTME system.
Education stakeholders believe the move could help boost enrolment in teacher education and agricultural programmes, sectors that have experienced declining interest among candidates in recent years.