The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has formally ended admissions into affiliated degree programmes run by colleges of education, marking a major shift in Nigeria’s teacher education system and effectively making the Nigeria Certificate in Education the sole entry route into the institutions from the 2026/2027 academic session.
The decision is contained in JAMB’s newly released NCE/ND Agric Registration Guidelines issued by the Office of the Registrar in June 2026.
Under the new policy, the board declared that “no admission into any affiliated programme in any college of education from the 2026/2027 session.”
JAMB also ruled out direct admission into 100 and 200 levels in colleges of education, insisting that all fresh entrants must now come 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 stated.
The development signals the end of an era for affiliated degree programmes, which for decades enabled colleges of education to award university degrees through partnerships with conventional universities.
The reform is expected to affect thousands of candidates who applied for degree programmes through affiliated colleges of education for the 2026 admission cycle.
To cushion the impact, JAMB outlined options for candidates who had already selected affiliated colleges of education for degree programmes through Direct Entry.
According to the board, affected candidates may apply for a change of institution at no cost, transfer to the parent university to which the degree programme is affiliated, 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 said.
JAMB added that candidates wishing to switch institutions had been given up to June 22 to complete the process.
Similarly, candidates seeking 100-level admission into affiliated colleges of education through the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination have been presented with three options: change institution, elevate their second-choice institution to first choice, or migrate to the NCE programme.
The board said candidates who opted for the NCE route would be required to obtain an O-Level verification code from the relevant examination body and pay only N700 as registration fee on 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,” JAMB explained.
The guidelines further stipulate that every application for NCE admission is a deliberate choice and that candidates recommended for NCE admission would have any ongoing UTME or Direct Entry admission process suspended.
“Anyone who chooses NCE and s/he is proposed/recommended would have any ongoing UTME/DE process suspended,” the board stated.
For candidates who have already applied through the 2026 UTME mode, JAMB said their details would be automatically migrated to their chosen first-choice college of education or agric-related non-technology ND programmes.
The board also introduced mandatory O-Level verification for all NCE applicants, pegging the verification fee at N1,500 for one sitting and N2,000 for two sittings.
JAMB urged colleges of education, institutional professional registration centres, accredited CBT centres and its officials across the country to study the new guidelines and ensure strict 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.
Affiliated degree programmes have long served as a pathway for colleges of education to offer Bachelor’s degrees in partnership with universities, allowing students to earn university degrees while studying in the colleges.
However, the new JAMB policy effectively ends that arrangement for new admissions from the 2026/2027 academic session, reinforcing the NCE as the foundational qualification for teacher education in Nigeria.
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