Manny Ita –
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has commenced the process allowing candidates who participated in the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to change their institution or course choices.
The announcement was confirmed in a statement issued by the Board’s spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, and shared via his official X account on Friday. The development comes as part of ongoing preparations for the 2026 admission cycle across Nigerian tertiary institutions, where candidates are expected to begin screening and admission processing.
According to the Board, eligible candidates can now adjust their previously selected institutions and programmes following the conclusion of the UTME exercise. JAMB emphasized that all modifications must be carried out strictly through accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres approved by the Board, warning candidates to avoid unauthorized agents or platforms in order to prevent errors, fraud, or invalid changes.
The Board further stated that candidates wishing to make adjustments should visit only approved CBT centres nationwide, reinforcing its centralized system for managing admission-related updates. It also confirmed that printing of original 2026 UTME result slips will begin on Monday, May 18, 2026, making official documents available for admission screening requirements.
The 2026 UTME was conducted between April 16 and April 25 across more than 1,000 CBT centres nationwide, with over 2.2 million candidates registering for the examination. JAMB has so far released millions of results across multiple batches, covering the first three days of the examination period.
In terms of policy direction, the Board has maintained its existing admission thresholds for the 2026 cycle, with universities and Colleges of Nursing Sciences requiring a minimum cut-off mark of 150, while polytechnics remain at 100. The minimum entry age for tertiary admission continues to be 16 years.
The Board also reiterated a policy change scheduled for the 2027 admission cycle, which will exempt candidates applying to Colleges of Education for education and agriculture-related non-engineering programmes from writing the UTME. The reform is intended to expand access to teacher training and agriculture-focused education, though it has already generated nationwide debate over its potential impact on academic standards.
JAMB added that it will continue to monitor the admission process closely while urging candidates to follow official channels for all registration and adjustment procedures.
