The Federal Government has clarified that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) remains the statutory requirement for admission into all tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
This clarification was contained in a statement issued by Boriowo Folasade, spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of Education, in response to widespread rumours suggesting that the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) had been scrapped.
“For the avoidance of doubt, JAMB remains the statutory and legally empowered body responsible for conducting entrance examinations and coordinating admissions into all tertiary institutions in Nigeria,” the statement read.
Folasade emphasized that no directive had been issued by the Ministry to abolish the UTME, and urged the public to disregard such reports.
“The established admission processes through JAMB remain fully operational, and any contrary information should be disregarded in its entirety,” she added.
The statement also quoted the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, who reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to transparency, fairness, and merit in Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
“The Federal Government remains firmly committed to preserving the integrity of the admissions process,” the Minister stated.
Rumours about the scrapping of UTME surfaced online following the government’s recent review of admission criteria, which allows candidates without a credit in Mathematics in their Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) to apply for certain programmes in the Faculty of Arts.
The Ministry clarified that this reform was not a replacement for the UTME, but rather a measure aimed at expanding access to higher education for qualified candidates, particularly in non-STEM fields where Mathematics is not a core requirement.
