The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has abolished admissions into affiliated degree programmes offered by Colleges of Education, effectively making the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) the only entry route into the institutions beginning from the 2026/2027 academic session.
The new directive, contained in JAMB’s recently released NCE/ND Agric Registration Guidelines issued by the Office of the Registrar in June 2026, marks a major change in Nigeria’s teacher education system and brings an end to decades-long partnerships that allowed Colleges of Education to award university degrees through affiliations with conventional universities.
According to the Board, no fresh admissions will be conducted into affiliated degree programmes from the 2026/2027 session.
From the 2026/7 Session, no admission into any affiliated programme in any College of Education, the guidelines stated.
JAMB also ruled out direct admission into 100-level and 200-level degree programmes in Colleges of Education, insisting that all new students must begin through the NCE programme.
With effect from 2026/7 Session, no admission into 100 or 200 Level is allowed into any College of Education. All entrants are through NCE, the Board added.
The decision is expected to impact thousands of candidates who applied for degree programmes through affiliated Colleges of Education during the 2026 admission exercise.
To ease the transition, JAMB outlined several options for affected Direct Entry candidates. Applicants can change institutions free of charge, transfer to the parent university affiliated with the programme, or allow their second-choice institution to become their first choice for admission processing.
A candidate may choose to be moved to the parent university to which the degree programme is affiliated, the Board stated.
Candidates wishing to switch institutions have until June 22 to complete the process
Candidates seeking 100-level admission into affiliated Colleges of Education through the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) have also been given three options.
These include changing institutions, upgrading their second-choice institution to first choice, or migrating to the NCE programme.
According to JAMB, candidates who choose the NCE option will only be required to obtain an O’Level verification code from the relevant examination body and pay a registration fee of ₦700 through the JAMB portal.
The candidate may be moved to the NCE programme of the institution, on the understanding that the choice of the College of Education indicates an interest in pursuing the NCE qualification,” the Board explained.
JAMB further clarified that choosing the NCE pathway is considered a deliberate decision, and any candidate recommended for NCE admission would automatically have ongoing UTME or Direct Entry admission processes suspended.
Anyone who chooses NCE and s/he is proposed or recommended, would have any ongoing UTME/DE process suspended,” the Board said.
The examination body also disclosed that candidates who applied through the 2026 UTME would have their details automatically migrated to their first-choice College of Education or agric-related non-technology National Diploma programmes.
As part of the new guidelines, JAMB introduced compulsory O’Level verification for all NCE applicants.
The verification fee has been fixed at ₦1,500 for candidates with one sitting and ₦2,000 for those with two sittings.
The Board directed Colleges of Education, Institutional Professional Registration Centres, accredited CBT centres and JAMB officials nationwide to study the guidelines carefully and ensure full compliance.
All PRCs, IPRCs and Officers of the Board are to study the guidelines and ensure strict compliance with the information contained therein,” the Registrar stated.
The latest policy effectively ends affiliated degree admissions in Colleges of Education and reinforces the NCE as the foundational qualification for teacher education in
