JAMB Sets Different 2025 Admission Deadlines for Universities and Other Institutions

Updated for accuracy, 6 November 2026: This report originally summarised the 2025 admissions timetable. The deadlines below are historical and should not be used for current applications.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) set different deadlines for categories of tertiary institutions under the admission timetable agreed at Nigeria’s 2025 Policy Meeting on Admissions, rather than applying a single 31 December closing date to every university.

Under the original timetable, public universities were expected to conclude admissions by 31 October 2025, private universities by 30 November, and polytechnics and colleges of education by 31 December 2025. The final date represented the broader closing window for the admissions exercise, but the earlier institution-specific deadlines also applied.

The schedule was part of policy decisions announced following the meeting involving education officials, tertiary institution representatives and JAMB. The meeting also agreed on minimum admission scores for different institution categories and emphasised compliance with approved admission procedures.

Subsequently, JAMB extended the deadline for admissions into public universities from 31 October to 17 November 2025. In a statement reported on 4 November 2025, the board explained that the extension followed a court-related constraint affecting admission processing and the release of newly accredited university programmes.

The extension applied specifically to public universities. It did not mean that all institution categories originally shared a December deadline.

Prospective candidates should consult JAMB and the particular institution for the applicable admissions calendar for any new academic session, rather than relying on the concluded 2025 exercise.

Sources: Federal Ministry of Information’s report on the 2025 admissions policy; Voice of Nigeria’s report of JAMB’s public-university deadline extension.