JAMB Defends Admission Disclosure Rule after Alex Onyia’s Criticism

Pat Stevens/

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has defended its requirement that candidates with existing university admissions must disclose their status during registration, following public criticism by education advocate, Alex Onyia, on social media.

On Tuesday, Onyia, founder of Educare and a vocal commentator on Nigeria’s education system, faulted what he described as a “new policy” by JAMB that compels candidates to terminate an existing admission before registering again for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

In a post on X, Onyia argued that the policy exposes students to unnecessary risk, particularly those seeking to change courses.

“Imagine a student currently studying Botany, but who now wants to pursue Medicine,” he wrote. “Under this new policy, the student must first lose their current admission, then register for JAMB, then hope they meet Medicine cut-off. What if they don’t? They’ve just been forced to drop out of school for nothing.”

He added that “no serious education system asks young people to destroy a valid future before qualifying for a better one.”

However, in a formal statement issued on Wednesday by the Office of the Registrar, JAMB said the interpretation circulating online was misleading and did not reflect its actual guidelines.

In the statement titled, ‘You Can’t Be in University and Still Write JAMB’, the examination body said it had observed “a surge in misleading and unfounded distortion of a position of the Board’s clear directives to candidates registering for the 2026 UTME/DE”.

According to JAMB, such claims were often made by individuals “with vested interests” and had the potential to “unscrupulously self-styled education advocates” misleading the public.

“For the avoidance of doubt and for record purposes,” the board stated, “and in line with its statutory mandate to prevent multiple matriculations, the Board directed that all candidates registering for the 2026 UTME/DE must disclose their matriculation status, where applicable.”

JAMB clarified that candidates are not barred from changing courses or institutions through UTME or Direct Entry, provided they comply with disclosure requirements.

“It is not an offence for a candidate to register for the UTME/DE while enrolled in an institution,” the statement said. “However, failure to disclose such status constitutes an offence.”

The board further explained that once a candidate secures a new admission through a subsequent UTME or DE registration, the earlier admission automatically lapses.

“The law is explicit that no candidate is permitted to hold two admissions concurrently,” JAMB noted.

Addressing concerns that candidates might be compelled to abandon their current programmes prematurely, the board stressed that disclosure, not withdrawal, is the core requirement at the point of registration.

JAMB also revealed that recent internal findings showed that many already-matriculated students were involved in professional examination practices, prompting the need for stricter monitoring.

“Mandatory disclosure therefore expedites appropriate action whenever such candidates are apprehended,” the statement said.

While acknowledging that its systems can detect multiple admissions, JAMB warned that candidates who deliberately withhold information do so at their own peril.

“Although the Board’s system has the capacity to detect prior matriculation, any candidate discovered to have failed to disclose such status stands the risk of forfeiting both opportunities,” it stated.

The board concluded by cautioning members of the public against distorted interpretations of its guidelines.

“The Board therefore urges the public to be cautious of these so-called education advocates who are perpetually eager to mislead candidates and parents for selfish gain,” the statement added, advising candidates to rely on official JAMB communications.

The statement was signed by JAMB’s Public Communication Advisor, Fabian Benjamin.

The clarification comes amid ongoing debates about access and flexibility within Nigeria’s tertiary admissions process, as thousands of students annually seek to change courses or institutions in pursuit of better academic and professional outcomes.