The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has cautioned Nigerian tertiary institutions against the unethical act of compelling candidates to change their preferred courses through internal school portals. The Board emphasized that all admission processes must strictly follow the JAMB CAPS system to ensure transparency and fairness. Any institution found violating this directive will face regulatory action, while candidates are urged to ignore unauthorized instructions to change programmes.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has issued a stern warning to Nigerian tertiary institutions against the unethical practice of persuading or coercing qualified candidates - particularly those with high rankings on the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) - to relinquish their preferred programmes for less competitive ones through internal school portals.
Describing the act as unethical and manipulative, the Board condemned it as a deliberate attempt to compromise the merit-based admission process, which was designed to promote transparency, accountability, and fairness in tertiary admissions.
According to JAMB, certain institutions have been abusing their internal admission systems by pressuring top-performing candidates to give up their rightful admission slots, thereby creating room for preferred applicants to move up the list.
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“All admission processes in Nigeria must be conducted solely through the JAMB CAPS platform,” the Board reiterated, stressing that any change of programme or admission activity carried out outside CAPS is unauthorized, unethical, and potentially detrimental to affected candidates.
In a statement released on Monday by Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Board’s Public Communication Adviser, JAMB further clarified that any candidate who yields to such persuasion and later effects a change of programme on CAPS will be considered to have done so voluntarily. Consequently, the Board will not accept responsibility for any negative outcomes resulting from such actions.
Preliminary investigations have reportedly identified a university in the South-West and another in Abuja as being involved in this practice. JAMB confirmed that regulatory measures have already been initiated to address the violations and to protect the interests of candidates. The Board also advised candidates to disregard any invitation or instruction to change programmes through institutional portals or unofficial channels, emphasizing that such requests are illegitimate and potentially harmful.
Reaffirming its commitment, JAMB stated that it remains fully dedicated to a merit-driven, transparent, and equitable admission process for all qualified candidates in the 2025 admission cycle and beyond.