Jane Salihu
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has extended the deadline for candidates offered admission from 2021 to date to regularise their outstanding admission status, warning that there will be no further opportunity after September 30, 2026.
The extension, which gives affected candidates an additional one month, moves the deadline from Monday, August 31, 2026, to Wednesday, September 30, 2026.
In a statement issued by the Board, JAMB said the extension was designed to give candidates with pending admission offers one final opportunity to either accept or reject such offers and, in the process, enable the Board to maintain accurate and up-to-date national admission records.
The Board explained that the affected category includes candidates whose admission offers, whether regular or through the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), remain pending because they have neither accepted nor rejected them.
JAMB urged such candidates not to wait until the new deadline, stressing that failure to take action by September 30 would have consequences for the status of the outstanding admissions.
According to the Board, candidates who accept their admission offers will be able to proceed to print and obtain their admission letters, while those who reject the offers will have their dashboards reverted to “Not Admitted.”
The Board said the process would enable it to update its records and ensure that its national admission database accurately reflects the current status of candidates.
JAMB also provided clarification for candidates who have moved on from the institutions or programmes for which they were previously offered admission.
It said candidates who are no longer in the institution where the earlier admission was offered, or who are now enrolled in a different programme, may accept the outstanding admission and subsequently apply for the appropriate correction or deletion of the admission, where necessary.
Similarly, candidates who are currently pursuing a second degree but still have an earlier unaccepted admission offer may reject the previous offer and continue with their current programme.
The Board further allayed concerns among candidates who have secured admission in the ongoing 2026 admission exercise but still have an older admission offer pending.
JAMB clarified that such candidates may reject the previous admission without fear of losing their 2026 admission, stressing that the action would have no adverse effect whatsoever on their current admission.
The latest extension therefore appears aimed not only at giving candidates additional time but also at clearing years of unresolved admission records and ensuring that the Board’s database reflects candidates’ actual academic status.
JAMB, however, described the September 30 deadline as final.
It warned that at the expiration of the extended deadline, all outstanding admission offers from 2021 to date that have neither been accepted nor rejected will automatically be reverted to “Not Admitted” status and will remain so on the Board’s records.
The Board consequently advised all affected candidates to take immediate action rather than wait until the final day.
“Candidates should note that failure to accept an admission offer within the stipulated period will render the offer invalid,” the Board warned.
