JAMB Registrar Hails Tinubu’s Push for Tertiary Education, Warns Against Admission Irregularities

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has issued a firm directive to Nigeria’s newly approved tertiary institutions: follow official admission procedures or face sanctions.

This warning came as the board engaged with over 80 recently established universities, polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of education at a strategic session held in Abuja.

JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, who led the discussion, acknowledged President Bola Tinubu’s approval of 67 new tertiary institutions across the country between late 2024 and 2025. He described the development as a major leap in widening access to higher education but stressed the need for compliance.

“All admissions must pass through the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS). There will be no tolerance for backdoor entries,” Oloyede said, emphasising that institutions attempting to bypass official platforms will have their admissions annulled.

The CAPS system, introduced in 2017, was designed to improve transparency and fairness in admission processing. Alongside it is the Integrated Brochure and Syllabus System (IBASS), which streamlines course eligibility and official communication.

At the session, JAMB demonstrated how both platforms operate and informed institutions that only NUC-, NBTE-, and NCCE-approved programmes would be activated on its systems.

In response, some institutional heads welcomed the engagement. Prof. William Qurix of the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, said the session helped clarify grey areas for new universities, especially regarding candidates who had already registered for UTME before their institutions gained approval.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education expressed concern that several upgraded colleges of education had not yet reported to the National Universities Commission (NUC) for resource verification. Dr. Uche Uba, Director of Colleges, warned that such delays could undermine their new status.

Also present was Prof. Paulinus Okwelle, Executive Secretary of the NCCE, who praised JAMB’s digital systems and urged compliance from institutions running dual qualifications such as degrees and NCEs.