RismadarVoice Reporters
January 12, 2026
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has directed tertiary institutions found to have engaged in irregular admission practices to immediately reverse such admissions.
The Board said it uncovered cases where candidates with higher rankings were allegedly bypassed in favour of others with lower scores, a practice it described as a violation of established admission guidelines.
The directive was contained in JAMB’s weekly bulletin released on Monday in Abuja by the Board’s Public Communication Adviser, Fabian Benjamin.
According to the bulletin, “The attention of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has been drawn to the conduct of admissions by some tertiary institutions, where higher-ranked candidates are reportedly being bypassed in favour of lower-ranked candidates.”
JAMB disclosed that decisive measures had been taken against the affected institutions, adding that they had been cautioned and ordered to immediately reverse the irregular admissions.
“Notwithstanding these reversals, JAMB reiterates its call on all institutions to strictly adhere to the established guidelines governing the selection and admission of candidates,” the Board stated.
The examination body reaffirmed that admissions are governed by a clearly defined three-tier structure comprising Merit, Catchment Area and Educationally Less Developed States, stressing that ranking remains the determining factor at every stage.
“Each tier is guided strictly by ranking, such that candidates with higher rankings must be selected first, followed by others in descending order. Any situation in which a better-ranked candidate is skipped for a lower-ranked candidate under any category will not be tolerated,” the Board warned.
Meanwhile, JAMB dismissed claims by a candidate who alleged she was unfairly denied admission by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, despite scoring high marks.
The Board said its findings showed that the candidate’s non-admission was in line with due process, as several applicants with higher rankings were ahead of her.
“Consequently, her non-admission was in line with due process, as she did not rank high enough to fall within the selected limit,” JAMB said.
While acknowledging that some institutions had breached admission rules, the Board clarified that the complainant was not among those affected by the identified irregularities.
Reaffirming its commitment to fairness and transparency, JAMB stressed that no candidate with a higher ranking would be displaced by one with a lower ranking in the admission process.
The Board also cautioned candidates against spreading unverified claims online, urging them to seek clarification through official channels before promoting allegations of admission irregularities.
