January 28, (THEWILL) — The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has clarified that candidates currently enrolled in tertiary institutions are not prohibited from registering for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) or Direct Entry (DE), provided they disclose their matriculation status during registration.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, JAMB said it was responding to misleading claims circulating on social media suggesting that university students could not write UTME.
The Board described the claims as a distortion of its 2026 UTME/DE guidelines by individuals it termed “unscrupulous self-styled education advocates.”
“For the avoidance of doubt and in line with its statutory mandate to prevent multiple matriculations, all candidates registering for the 2026 UTME/DE must disclose their matriculation status, where applicable”, JAMB stated.
It explained that registering for UTME or DE while already in an institution is not an offence, but failure to disclose such status amounts to a violation. According to the Board, once a candidate secures a new admission through fresh registration, the former admission automatically lapses.
“The law is explicit that no candidate is permitted to hold two admissions concurrently”, JAMB added.
The Board further disclosed that recent findings showed that many matriculated students were engaged in professional examination-taking, stressing that mandatory disclosure would enable appropriate action when such cases are detected.
Although JAMB noted that its systems can detect prior matriculation, it warned that candidates who fail to disclose their status risk forfeiting both opportunities.
JAMB urged candidates and parents to carefully read official guidelines and disregard distorted interpretations, advising members of the public to rely only on information from its official channels to avoid confusion and sanctions.
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