Deborah Akinyosoye
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has ordered Nigerian public universities to finalise their 2025 admission processes by October 31, 2025.
According to a schedule by the board, all private universities are also required to complete admissions by November 30, 2025, while all tertiary institutions in Nigeria, private or public, have until year’s end.
This is contained in a weekly bulletin released by the board on Monday.
JAMB said the directives are in line with the schedule approved during the 2025 Policy Meeting, chaired by the Minister of Education.
The admission board said the decision aims to stabilise the academic calendar and ensure equitable access to admission slots across all tertiary institutions.
“Following the directives issued at the 2025 Policy Meeting chaired by the Honourable Minister of Education, all tertiary institutions have been instructed to conclude their admission processes by the end of 2025 according to the schedule below:
“Public universities: To complete admissions by 31st October, 2025.
Private universities: To complete admissions by 30th November, 2025.
All other institutions (public and private): complete admissions by 31st December 2025.
JAMB urged all institutions to finalise admissions well in advance of the deadlines.
“Even where an institution is not yet ready to commence the new academic session, such an institution should conduct its admission and archive it.”
“By this policy directive, all admission processes must be concluded within the prescribed timelines.”
The directive also mandates institutions conducting post-UTME screenings to conclude these exercises promptly to comply with the 2025 admission schedule.
“Consequently, institutions conducting post-UTME screenings are expected to conclude those exercises in good time to comply with the 2025 admissions schedule,” JAMB said.
The 2025 UTME results were officially released to the public in May 2025.
The UTME, which is scored over a total of 400 marks, tests candidates across four core subjects. While the Use of English is mandatory for all, candidates are allowed to choose three other subjects relevant to their intended course of study.
Between 2020 and 2024, over 8.9 million candidates took the annual entrance exam conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.
However, only about 2.7 million were admitted, leaving a staggering six million stranded, many of whom were forced to re-register and retake the examination in subsequent years.