The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has rejected reports that candidates already enrolled in universities were prevented from registering for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE), describing the claims as misleading and untrue.
The Board, in a statement by its spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, said the reports circulating on social media were distortions of its official guidelines.
“The claims are a distortion of our guidelines by self-styled education advocates seeking attention and traffic on social media platforms,” Benjamin said.
He explained that the 2026 UTME/DE advertisement clearly instructed candidates to disclose their matriculation status during registration, a requirement aimed at preventing multiple admissions.
“It is not an offence for a candidate already enrolled in an institution to register for the UTME or Direct Entry examinations,” Benjamin added.
The spokesperson made the clarification on Wednesday in Abuja, emphasising that failure to disclose an existing matriculation status constitutes a violation under the law governing admissions.
He said disclosure ensures that once a candidate secures a fresh admission, any previous admission automatically ceases to exist.
Benjamin warned that no candidate is legally allowed to hold two admissions simultaneously under Nigeria’s admission regulations.
“Mandatory disclosure has helped to curb the activities of matriculated students engaging as professional examination takers,” he said.
He further cautioned that candidates who fail to declare prior enrolment risk losing both admissions if detected by JAMB’s systems.
The JAMB spokesperson urged the public to rely solely on official guidelines and disregard misleading interpretations circulated online.
“We advise candidates and the public to follow official JAMB guidelines and ignore misleading claims circulated for selfish interests,” he said.
