Nigeria’s education ministry says it has loosened admission rules for colleges of education and some agricultural programmes, a move it says could add about 1.5 million places in tertiary institutions. Tunji Alausa announced the policy at the 2026 admission policy meeting on Monday and defended it again on Tuesday, saying the changes are meant to widen access and reduce barriers that have kept many candidates out.
Under the revised rules, candidates seeking admission into colleges of education no longer need to write the UTME, so long as they have four credit passes in relevant subjects. Applicants still have to register with JAMB, and their credentials will be screened, verified and certified for admission letters through CAPS. Alausa said the same exemptions also cover candidates entering non-technology agricultural and agricultural-related courses in polytechnics and monotechnics, a shift he linked to the country’s food-security needs.
The minister put the change in hard numbers. He said about 2.1 million to 2.2 million Nigerians sit for UTME every year, while only about 770,000 are normally admitted, leaving what he described as a wide gap. Last year’s review had already increased admissions from 770,000 to 1.1 million, he said. With the new exemptions, Alausa said admissions could rise to about 1.5 million.
The policy also changes subject-specific entry rules beyond the UTME waivers. Alausa said candidates applying for social sciences, law and arts-related courses will only need a credit pass in English, while those seeking science and engineering programmes will only need a credit pass in mathematics. He said the government previously required five credits, including English and mathematics, for university or college of education admission, but that the revised guidelines now require at least four O-level credits in the school certificate examination.
That is the tension inside the reform: the government is trying to broaden access while still keeping a screening system in place. JAMB remains central to registration and verification, but the number of candidates who must clear its examination is being reduced for some pathways. Alausa said the policy is also meant to ease the administrative burden on the board, even as the ministry works on a wider curriculum overhaul for agricultural courses across universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
He said the new agric curriculum is expected to be ready by the end of 2026. For families watching the cut off mark 2026 debate, the immediate answer is clear: the government has made it easier for some candidates to get into tertiary institutions, and it expects the change to push total admissions higher this year.
