By Ono Yima
ABUJA – The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has issued a stern warning to students already enrolled in tertiary institutions who intend to sit for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE), mandating a formal declaration of their current status or risk total forfeiture of all admissions.
The directive, aimed at curating a transparent national database and curbing “double matriculation,” was clarified in a statement on Wednesday by the Board’s Public Communication Adviser, Dr. Fabian Benjamin.
The clarification follows what the Board described as a “misleading and unfortunate distortion” of its registration guidelines by “self-styled education advocates” seeking social media engagement at the expense of candidate clarity.
Disclosure over Prohibition
Contrary to rumors suggesting that currently enrolled students are barred from seeking new admissions, Dr. Benjamin emphasized that the act of re-registering is legal, provided it is transparent.
“It is not an offence for a candidate to register for the UTME/DE while still enrolled in an institution. However, failure to disclose such a status constitutes an offence,” Benjamin clarified.
He explained that the legal framework is explicit: no candidate is permitted to hold two admissions concurrently. Under the 2026 guidelines, a candidate who discloses their status and successfully secures a new admission will see their previous admission “automatically cease to subsist.”
Curbing “Hired Test Takers”
Beyond administrative order, the Board revealed a security dimension to the policy. Investigations have shown that some already-matriculated students leverage their status to act as “hired guns” or professional examination takers for others.
“Mandatory disclosure expedites appropriate action whenever such candidates are apprehended,” Benjamin noted, adding that JAMB’s systems are now sophisticated enough to detect previous matriculation records even without self-disclosure.
“No Vision, No Registration“
The 2026 registration cycle, which commenced on January 26, is also defined by the “No Vision, No Registration, No UTME” policy. This mandate ensures that only Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres equipped with remote monitoring facilities can participate, a move designed to eliminate registration “dark spots” where irregularities often thrive.
The Board cautioned parents and candidates to bypass third-party interpretations and rely solely on official brochures. “This deliberate misrepresentation is being propagated by some unscrupulous self-styled education advocates for parochial interests,” the statement read, urging the public to avoid “distorted interpretations” that could lead to candidates losing both their existing seats and their new opportunities.