The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has cautioned prospective undergraduates against accepting admission offers outside its Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), warning that students who bypass the official process could lose their status as recognised undergraduates.
The warning was issued on Wednesday at the 2026 Annual Education Summit organised by the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) in Abuja, where the National Universities Commission (NUC) also unveiled plans to intensify scrutiny of universities over illegal admissions and the use of artificial intelligence.
Represented by the Board’s Public Communication Adviser, Dr Fabian Benjamin, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, insisted that only candidates admitted through CAPS and issued official JAMB admission letters would be considered legitimate students.
He explained that every admission approved through CAPS automatically reflects on JAMB’s matriculation list, which serves as the official database of students admitted into Nigerian tertiary institutions.
According to Oloyede, any institution that admits candidates outside the approved system is violating existing regulations, while students who accept such offers do so at their own risk.
He also warned universities against exceeding their admission quotas, stressing that institutions are bound by the carrying capacities approved for each programme.
“If a department is authorised to admit 50 candidates, admitting one extra student amounts to an illegal admission because such a candidate will not appear on the matriculation list,” he said.
The registrar urged admission seekers to verify every offer through CAPS rather than relying solely on notifications from institutions.
Oloyede added that the introduction of CAPS had made the admission process more transparent by allowing candidates to track their chances of securing places in different institutions and programmes.
He noted that highly competitive courses, including Medicine, Law and Nursing, naturally attract higher cut-off marks because of the large number of applicants, advising candidates with lower scores to broaden their options.
The JAMB boss also warned candidates to protect their SIM cards, describing them as critical tools for identity verification in Nigeria’s computer-based examination system.
He cautioned against purchasing pre-registered SIM cards or requesting unnecessary SIM swaps, saying such actions could expose candidates to fraud and identity theft.
Meanwhile, the NUC said it would strengthen post-admission monitoring of universities as part of efforts to curb the practice of admitting students beyond approved capacities.
Representing NUC Executive Secretary Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, Malam Lawal Faruk said the commission would begin inspecting matriculation records after every admission cycle to ensure institutions comply with regulatory limits.
Although CAPS was designed to prevent abuse, Faruk acknowledged that some institutions still find ways to circumvent the system.
He disclosed that the commission was considering tougher sanctions through ongoing amendments to the NUC Act.
On graduate employability, the NUC said universities would be encouraged to deepen industrial training programmes, organise job fairs and expand entrepreneurship education to equip students with practical skills before graduation.
The commission also announced the introduction of guidelines on micro-credentials, aimed at helping students acquire additional competencies relevant to the modern labour market.
Addressing concerns over delays in transcript processing, Faruk said universities were working towards digitising the process while retaining their authority over the certification of academic records.
He further clarified that the Federal Government’s suspension of new private university licences affects only fresh applications and does not apply to institutions already undergoing approval.
On artificial intelligence, the commission revealed that universities would now be required to domesticate the NUC’s national AI framework and submit annual reports detailing its implementation.
The summit brought together education stakeholders, policymakers and journalists to review reforms in the sector and discuss ways to strengthen transparency, innovation and accountability in tertiary education.
