The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board will, from the 2026/2027 academic session, take over the admission process for Higher National Diploma programmes in polytechnics, allied institutions, colleges of nursing sciences and colleges of health technology.
The National Board for Technical Education disclosed this in a circular issued on September 9, 2026, and addressed to rectors and provosts of affected institutions.
The NBTE Executive Secretary, Professor Idris Bugaje, said the decision followed a meeting involving the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, JAMB, the National Youth Service Corps, NBTE and the Federal Ministry of Education.
According to Bugaje, the centralised admission system is intended to prevent illegal and compromised admissions and address challenges affecting graduates’ eligibility for NYSC mobilisation.
He said, “All HND admissions in all institutions shall, from this session, be taken over by JAMB to provide a centralised process and avoid illegal and compromised admissions.”
The NBTE also said it would develop guidelines for HND admissions and submit them to JAMB to guide the digital admission platform.
The guidelines are expected to address issues including the waiting period for National Diploma holders before progressing to HND programmes and exemptions for certain health-related ND programmes.
Confirming the development, JAMB’s Head of Media and Information, Fabian Benjamin, said the board would comply with the directive.
He said, “It’s a directive from above and ours is to comply to ensure that the good intentions of the government are achieved.”
Meanwhile, the NBTE said part-time National Diploma admissions, which are already under JAMB, would be limited to 50 per cent of an institution’s approved full-time admission quota.
The board also reaffirmed its earlier directive barring institutions from presenting candidates with combined NCE and HND qualifications for NYSC mobilisation.
Under the new arrangement, NCE holders seeking HND admission must first obtain a valid National Diploma, with admission into the HND programme to be processed through JAMB.
The NBTE said only ND and HND certificates would be recognised for NYSC mobilisation in such cases.
The board added that the new admission system would ensure that candidates are admitted only into accredited programmes and within institutions’ approved carrying capacities.
It warned that institutions that violate the directive could face regulatory sanctions, including withdrawal of their operational licences.
The NBTE further disclosed that outstanding cases involving legally admitted ND part-time and HND full-time students had been approved for resolution to enable eligible candidates to participate in NYSC mobilisation.
The board said the digitisation of the process would make it more difficult for institutions to conduct unauthorised admissions.
