The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that candidates seeking admission into education programmes and agriculture-related non-engineering courses will no longer be required to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The board disclosed this on Monday via a post on its official X handle during its 2026 policy meeting on admissions, where key guidelines for tertiary institutions across Nigeria were being deliberated.
“Candidates seeking admissions into education programmes and agriculture non-engineering courses are now exempted from UTME,” the board stated.
The decision marks a significant shift in Nigeria’s tertiary education admission process, where UTME has traditionally served as the standard entrance examination for universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education nationwide.
The annual JAMB policy meeting is typically used to set admission benchmarks, including cut-off marks and guidelines that govern entry into higher institutions.
While some categories of applicants, such as Direct Entry candidates, have previously benefited from UTME exemptions, the latest policy is considered one of the most extensive waivers introduced by the examination body in recent years.
Under the new arrangement, candidates applying for education-related courses and agriculture programmes outside engineering disciplines are expected to be assessed through alternative admission methods. These may include institutional screening exercises and qualification-based evaluations.