2020 Guidelines On Admissions - 9-July - 2020 PDF
2020 Guidelines On Admissions - 9-July - 2020 PDF
2020 Guidelines On Admissions - 9-July - 2020 PDF
National Headquarters Complex, Suleja Road, Bwari, P.M.B. 189, Garki, Abuja, Nigeria.
Tel: 08166335513, http://www.jamb.gov.ng
These are the guidelines for 2020 Admission Exercise, which are expected to guide
all the participants in admission process The guidelines explain the nitty-gritty of the
processes of admission of candidates into the Nigerian Tertiary Institutions. All
Heads of Institutions and Admission Officers are advised to carefully study and
understand the content of the document with a view to implementing it fully for a
seamless and transparent admission exercise. Your usual cooperation and
understanding of the strategic importance of these guidelines are highly anticipated
You will recall that the 2020 policy meeting on admission exercise to tertiary institutions in
Nigeria was held on Tuesday 16th June, 2020 via virtual meeting under the chairmanship of
Honorable Minister of Education Malam Adamu Adamu who was represented by the
Honourable Minister of State for Education Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba. The Chairman, Senate
Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFUND, Senator Ahmed Babba Kaita, Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Arc. Sunny Echono and Director-General, National
Youth Service Corp, Brig. Gen. Shu’aibu Ibrahim also attended.
At the meeting were also the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Joint Admissions and
Matriculation Board (JAMB), Dr. Emmanuel Ndukwe, Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq
Olanrewaju Oloyede. Heads and Principal Officers of Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria with their
schedule officers on admission attended the meeting virtually.
Also present were members of the Governing Board of Joint Admissions and Matriculation
Board, Management staff of JAMB, top Media Executives, and members of the press.
At the meeting, the following decisions were taken to serve as policy guidelines for the 2020
Admission Exercise.
A. COMPLIANCE WITH DECISIONS OF 2020 POLICY MEETING
i. The decisions as well as the policy directives as contained in the address of the
Honourable Minister of Education at the Policy Meeting shall serve as the
guidelines for the 2020 Admissions Exercise.
ii. All Heads of Tertiary Institutions are to ensure total compliance with the
guidelines.
i. All applications for admissions to First Degree, National Diploma, National Innovation
Diploma and the Nigeria Certificate in Education into Full Time, Distance Learning, Part
Time, Outreach, Sandwich, etc, must be processed ONLY through the Joint
Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
ii. Institutions which are still involved in advertising or selling application forms for
admissions into the programmes listed in 1.3 (i) above should stop henceforth.
Institutions should advise candidates to apply to them through Joint Admissions
and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Duplication of application forms is NOT
allowed.
iii. Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the three (3) Regulatory
Agencies (National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for
Technical Education (NBTE) and National Commission for Colleges of Education
(NCCE)) will ensure that all Tertiary Institutions comply with this policy directive.
iv. The duration of all Non-Full Time Studies must be maintained as approved by
the Regulatory Agencies. This is generally not less than one hundred and fifty
percent (150%) of the equivalence of Full Time.
C. ADVERTORIALS
Institutions that desire to place advertisement can do so by advising candidates who
applied for the current UTME to change to their institution as First (1 ) Choice rather
st
than requesting the candidates to purchase another application form or apply. This is
to prevent the issue of double registration which is a violation of the JAMB mandate.
2 | RO/02/AA
2. The principal participants are:
3. The 1st and 2nd Choices Admission-Exercise be conducted for all institutions from
21 August 2020 to a later date that would be determined by the Federal
st
The following documents would be used for the conduct of the 2020 Admissions
Exercise:
i. the 2020 UTME/DE results;
ii. the JAMB's 2020 Admissions Quota as prescribed by the Regulatory Bodies
(NUC/NBTE/NCCE);
iii. the 2020 UTME Brochure as published and on IBASS;
iv. the Guidelines on Admissions to Tertiary Institutions as prescribed by the
institutions' Proprietors (Federal, State and Private); and
v. Policy decisions on 2020 Admissions Exercise and the directives of the
Honourable Minister of Education at the Policy Meeting.
i. A candidate who obtains A/L qualifications after the close of sale of application
can seek upgrade from UTME to DE.
ii. He/She logs into his/her profile, chooses upgrade and completes the process free
of charge. The platform allows him/her to change programme or/and institution
at no cost.
iii. Once it is done, 'U' is automatically added to his/her original registration number
and his/her uploaded result is automatically made available to the institution
through CAPS.
iv. The Upgrade can be done before or after Post-UTME but the candidate must
notify the institution in order to update their download list from CAPS (see
attached Advisory on Upgrade from UTME Registration to Direct Entry).
3 | RO/02/AA
G. PROCEDURE FOR THE ADMISSION-EXERCISE
1. Recommendations and Approval
Institutions are to recommend candidates for admission after having presented to
the Board the following information through CAPS:
i. the approved general quota for each institution and the distribution to the
various programmes;
ii. Minimum UTME score for each programme;
iii. Minimum DE qualification grades for Direct Entry Candidates;
iv. Components of Cut-off marks and the allotted score for each component;
v. the cut-off date for the 1st and 2nd Choice admissions after which no result
upload nor change of Institution as 1st Choice would be allowed;
vi. supplementary admission can be allowed but fresh candidates cannot have
right to being on merit list but through other criteria to fill existing vacancies;
and
vii. other admissions criteria (if any).
3. Documentation
To register admitted candidates, institutions are to receive from each candidate and
file the following:
i. JAMB original Result Slip;
ii. JAMB original online Admission Letter and
iii. copies of candidates’ credentials.
4. Verification
Each institution is to:
i. verify the characteristics (giving by JAMB) e.g. registration number is to be
water mark across each of the two documents;
ii. download the mobile app (JAMB QR SCANNER) on your phone or similar
devices and use it to verify security features on the documents such as Name,
Registration Number, Institution/course. The JAMB QR SCANNER APP can
be downloaded from either Goggle or Apple Store;
iii. check the candidate’s status on CAPS; and
iv. at the point of registration, download list of candidates offered provisional
admissions from CAPS. It will be indicated against each candidate, whether the
Result Slip and Admission Letter have been printed or not (see attached CAPS
User Guide).
4 | RO/02/AA
5. Frequent Downloads and Portal-Closure
i. Since candidates continue to change courses and institutions until the close of
portal of the institution, it is mandatory for institutions to daily update their
downloads to be current so as not to recommend a candidate that has changed
to another institution or lose a new qualified candidate.
ii. Each institution is to notify JAMB when it is closing its portal and will no longer
accept new candidates, at least one week before the closure. However,
candidates can still change from such institution.
iii. CAPS is a quick and most reliable platform for all communications on the
admission-exercise.
i. Degree — 160
ii. ND — 120
iii. NCE — 100
iv. NID — 100
3. Institutions cannot reduce their submitted minimum UTME score on the basis of
National minimum score in (H2) above. Only institutions with minimum UTME
score lower than the National minimum UTME score are obliged to upgrade to
meet or surpass the National Minimum score.
4. In the same vein, no institution can graduate a candidate who has not been a full
time student of that institution for at least 2 consecutive years.
5. Affiliated institutions are to adopt the same minimum UTME scores as the mother
institutions
7. No candidate can be considered for admission if he/she does not meet the
prescribed requirements by the institution provided such requirement has been
approved and published by JAMB.
5 | RO/02/AA
8. No institution can impose on a candidate a requirement that had not been
previously published by JAMB.
i. Any institution interested in conducting any form of screening could do so, but
the gross charge for the screening should not exceed Two Thousand Naira (N2,
000.00) only.
ii. It is not allowed for any institution to make candidates directly or indirectly incur
further related expenses on screening exercise such as administrative and bank
charges. JAMB will provide for free to all Institutions access to photo images and
finger print data of candidates in order to curb the substitution of candidates who
sat for the examinations.
iv. Every Institution is to exercise due diligence and ascertain the authenticity of
candidates’ credentials and certificates.
b. For State Institutions, the Merit quota should be in two layers as follows:
i. National Merit Quota – for the first topmost 10% (indigenes and non-
indigenes including foreigners); and
ii. Indigene Merit Quota – additional 35% allotted to indigenes of the
State on merit basis after the first topmost 10% National Merit.
3. State and Private Tertiary Institutions should apply the criteria as approved by
their proprietors.
6 | RO/02/AA
K. REVIEW AND UPDATE OF 2021 UTME BROCHURE
i. The review of Brochure is now automated and online through IBASS (Integrated
Brochure and Syllabus System);
ii. This can be accessed at ibass.jamb.gov.ng;
iii. Each Institution is to use its secured access credentials to login in. It can be requested
through the Institutions registered e-mail address on CAPS;
iv. Each Institution views its present requirement and makes online request for amendment,
deletion or addition on IBASS platform;
v. All approved request will be communicated vide platform provided within the approved
vi. guideline of the respective Regulatory Agencies; and
vii. The request to be reflected in the 2021 brochure must be made on or before 15 th
October, 2020 (note that what is published by JAMB is based on IBASS as the
legitimate and binding requirement).
i. Candidates who sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in
foreign countries, Correctional Centres, as well as Blind and Deaf Candidates are
to be exempted from pre-admission institutions screening test. The list of the
respective candidates in these categories would be made available to the various
Tertiary Institutions for guidance and necessary action.
ii. This should be treated by the institutions under affirmative and inclusive actions for
the accommodation of the affected candidates. The Board and the Tertiary
Institutions are to ensure that candidates from this category who meet minimum
requirements are admitted and their progress monitored in the various institutions
for the purpose of confirmation of the effectiveness of the policy.
iii. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has put in place a mechanism that
would prevent any candidate from taking undue advantage of this exemption. For
instance, only candidates who are either foreigners or Nigerians that have been
7 | RO/02/AA
confirmed to be residents in foreign countries and are products of foreign school
system can enjoy this privilege in the interest of internationalization of the Nation’s
Tertiary Institutions. A Nigerian with less than six (6) month-stay in a foreign
country is disallowed from taking the UTME in any foreign country.
i. In order to address the issue of flexible period of application, the Joint Admissions
and Matriculation Board shall ensure that the online application platform is made
available throughout the year for the Non-Regular candidates.
ii. Please note that this policy directive is without prejudice to the processing fees
being charged by the Tertiary Institutions for the different Part-time programmes.
iii. Candidates for Distance Learning, Part-time and other related modes of study will
apply through JAMB before approaching their preferred institutions to process
their admission with JAMB registration number.
iv. All categories of candidates for admissions must be processed through CAPS.
Distance learning, Part-time and Sandwich candidates need not sit for UTME but
sitting for it does not disqualify them. These categories of candidates would pay
to their preferred institution a processing fee that will be determined by the
institutions.
v. JAMB is to place advert to inform the public that all modes of admission must be
through JAMB
vi. The Application Forms completed at the Institutions should be changed to Part-
time/Distance Learning Processing Form to avoid confusion. Academic sessions
are from 1st August to 31st July, therefore the date of admissions determines the
sessions in which a candidate is admitted.
i. The Board reactivated the National Matriculation List during the 2019 admissions
exercise in order to improve on the quality and authenticity of the Tertiary
Education data base of the Nation. Every institution is expected to comply
accordingly.
ii. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the Regulatory
Agencies have resumed their joint monitoring exercise of Matriculation and
Admissions. It is mandatory for institutions to keep proper valid register of all
matriculated students in the institutions. Each candidate’s file should contain all the
documents listed under item 7.3 (i-iii) above.
8 | RO/02/AA
iii. All successful candidates whose admissions are processed appropriately through the
Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) would be listed and the list
made available publicly to all stakeholders.
iv. Any candidate whose name is NOT on the National Matriculation List would be
considered not to have been admitted.
v. The Matriculation List should be separated i.e. Full-Time, Distance Learning, Part-
Time, Sandwich or Supplementary (for previously matriculated students of the
institutions) etc. It is therefore mandatory to keep proper and valid register and
this must be the same with the National Matriculation Register with the Joint
Admissions and Matriculation Board.
i. Where a candidate is offered admission into a programme and he/she does not want to
accept the programme/institution during the year’s admission exercise, he/she does the
following:
a. The candidate would only need to reject the offer of admission and the candidate would
be available to the institution or any other institution in addition to the market place
for reconsideration (recommendation) through CAPS. This is an established procedure.
b. The quota utilised for such candidates would also be released and made
available to the institution automatically.
ii. Where a candidate is offered admission and after acceptance, he/she or the
institution is desirous of changing the programme offered and accepted while the
year’s admission is still in progress, the following is applicable:
a. The candidate will complete change of admission letter form online indicating the details
of the new institution.
9 | RO/02/AA
b. Print the indemnity form and take it to the new institution for the Head of
institution’s approval.
c. The Head of the institution MUST sign the form which would be transmitted
to the Coordinator of the JAMB State Office for upload to the Registrar for
approval. See attached format on e-facility for change of admission letter.
iii. Where a candidate is offered admission and he/she neither accepts nor rejects the
offer and the institution is desirous of substituting the candidate, the following
applies:
a. The institution would forward the list of the candidates to the Board through CAPS in
the following format:
b. The list must be signed by the Head of the institution for Registrar’s approval.
In case a candidate does not accept or reject admission on CAPS before JAMB’s closure
of CAPS for the year, the candidate would not be regarded as admitted and would not
be on matriculation list for the year. He is not expected to be registered by any institution
without JAMB’s admission letter which cannot be printed without acceptance of
admission.
S. TRANSFERRED CANDIDATES
Candidates already admitted into an Institution (Foreign or Local) and desire to transfer
to another Institution must:
10 | RO/02/AA
T. PROVISION OF CANDIDATES' DETAILS TO INSTITUTIONS/PUBLIC
The Board will not release or attach candidates’ contacts through any medium to
Institutions or the Public, this is to avoid its abuse and litigations.
The candidates’ details are personal to them, Institutions are advised to desist from
seeking and retaining candidates’ username and password. Also the candidates are
advised not to surrender their personal details to strangers or close relatives who might
use them to distort their records without their knowledge
All Institutions should keep records of admissions done yearly as record for each year's
admission will be deleted from CAPS Platform at the end of the exercise. The Board
has its archive of admission done and would make it available on request by any
Institution.
W. EXEMPTION ADMISSION
Institutions must have done 90% of its admissions for the year before requesting a
waiver for the use of the exemption mode.
i. The Board will forward to the Institutions the e-copy of minutes of the previous
policy meeting not later than three days before the next meeting.
ii. No admission should be carried out or announced/published through any other
platform other than CAPS.
iii. No admission should be communicated to any candidate through any means other
than CAPS. Individual Institution’s website/platform can publish admission already
approved on CAPS. Similarly, No Candidate can be registered for any course other
than the one he/she had been accepted for on CAPS.
Thank you.
11 | RO/02/AA
ADVISORY ON UPGRADE FROM
UTME REGISTRATION TO DIRECT ENTRY
1. Candidates who wrote the 2020 UTME but later obtained a higher
qualification (A-levels or its equivalent) can apply to convert the UTME
registration to Direct Entry.