"Starting from the 2027 cycle, specific education and agriculture courses will no longer require UTME for admission into Colleges of Education."
In a major policy shift aimed at bolstering the agricultural and teaching sectors in Nigeria, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that candidates seeking admission into Colleges of Education for education-related and non-engineering agriculture courses will be exempted from the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) beginning in 2027. This decision was reached during the 2026 Policy Meeting chaired by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa.
The initiative is designed to widen the net for prospective teachers and agricultural specialists, addressing the critical shortage of professionals in these areas. While universities and polytechnics offering similar degree and diploma courses will still mandate UTME, the focus is to incentivize enrollment into teacher education programs by removing the hurdle of the national examination for those specifically interested in the field.
Prof. Oloyede noted that this reform is part of a broader strategy to reposition tertiary education in Nigeria. For the current 2026 admission cycle, however, all candidates—including those interested in education and agriculture—must still possess their 2026 UTME results, as the new policy does not take full effect until the 2027 cycle. Prospective students currently seeking admission for the 2026/2027 session should continue with their regular application processes, adhering to the 150 and 100-mark benchmarks respectively.
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