The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has urged universities to comply fully with approved admission guidelines to prevent candidates from being stranded after graduation.

The ​‌⁠​‍‍⁠⁠‍​‍‌‌⁠​​​‌​Registrar of JAMB, Segun Aina, made the call at the 2026 retreat of the National Universities Commission (NUC) with vice-chancellors of Nigerian universities on Tuesday in Abuja.

The theme of the retreat was “Enhancing Regulatory Compliance, Governance, Leadership, and Partnership in the Nigerian University System.”

Mr Aina said candidates admitted outside approved procedures risked having their admissions unrecognised, preventing them from participating in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.

He described the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) as an important instrument for promoting transparency, accountability and the protection of candidates in the admission process.

According to him, the effective use of CAPS ensures that admissions are properly processed, verifiable and consistent with approved guidelines.

“When admissions occur outside the established procedure, candidates risk being offered places that will not be recognised, potentially leaving them stranded after investing their time, resources, and hopes in their higher education.

“Since my assumption, I have seen numbers of candidates who have at one point or another been admitted outside the CAPS, for which the admission system has not recognised.

“The consequence of that, unfortunately, is that these candidates cannot proceed to NYSC. They are stranded, and it’s a surprising thing going on. We must do everything within our collective capacity to prevent such situations,” he said.

He urged universities to adopt and consistently use the platform to protect candidates, preserve institutional integrity and ensure that legitimate admissions were properly processed and recognised.

The JAMB registrar acknowledged disruptions to the CAPS platform, apologising for the inconvenience caused to candidates and university administrators.

He said the board recognised the challenges experienced by its partners and was committed to implementing medium and long-term measures to strengthen the platform’s reliability and resilience.

Mr Aina said the measures would include improved system redundancy, governance and business continuity arrangements to minimise the risks and effects of future disruptions.

He added that the board’s responsibility extended beyond restoring the system after disruptions to ensure that it became more dependable.

The registrar urged universities to monitor their admission processes closely and adhere to approved guidelines and timelines.

He said JAMB remained committed to working with universities to resolve institutional challenges and improve the admission process.

Mr Aina said collaboration among regulators and university administrators was essential to ensuring that technology supported institutional processes and protected the public interest.

(NAN)