By our Reporter
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and key stakeholders in the education sector have announced deadlines for the conclusion of the 2026 admission exercise into tertiary institutions across the country.
The decision was reached during the 2026 JAMB Annual Policy Meeting on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions held in Abuja on Monday.
According to resolutions adopted at the meeting, all public universities are expected to conclude their admission processes on or before October 31, 2026, while private universities have been given until November 30, 2026, to complete admissions.
Polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of education are also expected to conclude their admission exercises not later than December 31, 2026.
JAMB stated that all tertiary institutions must strictly conduct their admission processes within the approved timelines.
“All institutions are to conduct their 2026 admission exercise within the approved schedule,” the board said.
The examination body warned that institutions that fail to complete admissions within the stipulated period would lose access to candidates on the Central Admissions Processing System platform.
“At the expiration of the period, any institution that failed to conduct its admission will no longer have the candidates on its platform on CAPS,” JAMB added.
The board also announced a four-week grace period for candidates to accept admission offers after approval by institutions.
“There will be a grace period of four weeks within which all approved admissions must be accepted by the candidates,” the board stated.
JAMB warned that candidates who fail to accept admission offers within the stipulated timeframe risk losing the admission and may face sanctions.
“Failure to do so will lead to such admissions being deleted, based on the request from the institutions, and the candidates will be placed under the ‘refusal to accept category’ punishable by ineligibility to be admitted again,” the board said.
The policy meeting was attended by vice-chancellors, rectors, provosts, and other education stakeholders, with discussions centred on streamlining the admission process and ensuring uniformity in admission timelines nationwide.
