JAMB exempts students seeking admission into education, agriculture programmes from UTME

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has made a critical change in Nigeria’s admissions process by saying that candidates applying for admission into Education and non-engineering Agriculture program do not have to write the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

According to the body, which posted this message on its official Twitter handle yesterday on the sideline of its yearly admission policy review:

“The candidates applying for admissions into Education Programs and Agriculture non-Engineering Courses are now exempted from UTME.”

This new development shows that there is going to be a fundamental change in the country’s previous admission system, which saw the UTME as the necessary test to qualify for university, polytechnic, and college education institutions admission.

The JAMB policy meeting is the yearly forum where admission policies, which include cut-off marks and institution-specific criteria, are deliberated and determined for the tertiary institutions within the country.

Although UTME waivers have been granted in rare cases, particularly to Direct Entry applicants and certain categories, the new waiver differs in scope, specifically designed for courses in Education and Agriculture (not Engineering courses).

The decision is likely to create more admission channels via institutional screening processes and other academic qualifications.

Educational experts have pointed out that this could make it easier for applicants to gain admission into less popular courses when compared to highly sought-after courses like Medicine, Law, and Engineering. It would also assist in addressing the shortage of manpower in the education and agriculture industries.

The board is also expected to reach a conclusion regarding the cut-off marks for UTME for the year 2026 during this year’s policy meeting.