The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has declared that undergraduates studying in Nigerian tertiary institutions are not eligible to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The examination body said the directive was clearly stated in the 2026 UTME/DE advertisement for candidates registering for the 2026 UTME/DE.

The spokesperson for JAMB, Fabian Benjamin, stated this in a statement on Wednesday in reaction to what he described as a misleading and unfortunate distortion of a portion of the board’s clear directives.

He claimed that there was a deliberate misrepresentation being propagated unscrupulous self-styled education advocates for parochial interests.

Mr Fabian added that the development was not surprising as such individuals routinely surface at the commencement of every examination registration cycle.

“For the avoidance of doubt and for record purposes, and in line with its statutory mandate to prevent multiple matriculations, the Board directed that all candidates registering for the 2026 UTME/DE must disclose their matriculation status, where applicable.

“It is not an offence for a candidate to register for the UTME/DE while still enrolled in an institution. However, failure to disclose such status constitutes an offence. Disclosure simply means that once a candidate secures admission through the latest registration, the former admission automatically ceases to subsist. The law is explicit that no candidate is permitted to hold two admissions concurrently,” Mr Fabian said.

JAMB further called on the public to be cautious of ‘education advocates,’ whom it said were perpetually eager to mislead candidates and parents for selfish gain.

Mr Fabian maintained that many of the ‘self-styled education advicates’ do not take their time to read or properly understand the guidelines, but hastily rush to the public space with false narratives aimed solely at attracting traffic to their social media platforms.

“Furthermore, recent findings indicate that many matriculated students are engaged as professional examination takers. Mandatory disclosure therefore expedites appropriate action whenever such candidates are apprehended.

“Although the Board’s system has the capacity to detect prior matriculation, any candidate discovered to have failed to disclose such status stands the risk of forfeiting both opportunities,” he added.

The statement came amid the frustration expressed by undergraduates desiring either new institutions or courses and unable to proceed with UTME registration once their academic status are disclosed on the portal.