JAMB Warns Varsities: Admissions Outside CAPS Strand Graduates

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has called on Nigerian universities to comply fully with approved admission guidelines, warning that failure to do so could leave candidates stranded after graduation.

 

JAMB's Registrar, Prof. Segun Aina, made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the 2026 retreat of the National Universities Commission (NUC) with vice-chancellors of Nigerian universities.

 

The retreat was held under the theme "Enhancing Regulatory Compliance, Governance, Leadership, and Partnership in the Nigerian University System."

 

Aina said candidates admitted outside approved procedures risked having their admissions go unrecognised, which would prevent them from taking part in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.

 

He described the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) as an important tool for promoting transparency and accountability and for protecting candidates during admission.

 

According to the registrar, effective use of CAPS ensures that admissions are properly processed, verifiable and in line with approved guidelines.

 

"When admissions occur outside the established procedure, candidates’ risk being offered places that will not be recognised, potentially leaving them stranded after investing their time, resources, and hopes in their higher education.

 

"Since my assumption, I have seen numbers of candidates who have at one point or another been admitted outside the CAPS, for which the admission system has not recognised.

 

"The consequence of that, unfortunately, is that these candidates cannot proceed to NYSC. They are stranded, and it's a surprising thing going on.

 

"We must do everything within our collective capacity to prevent such situations," he said.

 

Aina urged universities to adopt the platform and use it consistently to protect candidates, preserve institutional integrity and ensure that legitimate admissions are properly processed and recognised.

 

The JAMB registrar also acknowledged recent disruptions to the CAPS platform and apologised for the inconvenience they caused candidates and university administrators.

 

He said the board recognised the challenges its partners had faced and was committed to medium- and long-term measures to make the platform more reliable and resilient.

 

According to Aina, the measures will include improved system redundancy, governance and business continuity arrangements to reduce the risk and impact of future disruptions.

 

He added that the board's responsibility went beyond restoring the system after a disruption to making sure it became more dependable.

 

 

The registrar urged universities to monitor their admission processes closely and to keep to approved guidelines and timelines.

 

He said JAMB remained committed to working with universities to resolve institutional challenges and improve the admission process.

 

Aina said collaboration among regulators and university administrators was essential to ensuring that technology supported institutional processes and protected the public interest.