JAMB extends deadline for candidate acceptance of previous admission

By Mariam Abeeb

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has extended the deadline for candidates offered admission from 2021 to date to either accept or reject their admission offers.

The new deadline is Wednesday, September 30, 2026, giving affected candidates a final opportunity to take action on their outstanding admission offers.

The Board had earlier fixed Monday, August 31, 2026, as the deadline for candidates offered admission from 2021 to date to indicate whether they would accept or reject the offers.

In a statement signed by the Board’s Acting Director of Public Affairs and Protocol, Dr Fabian Benjamin, JAMB advised candidates with pending admission offers, whether regular or through the Centralised University Information and Admission System (CUIIA), to take the necessary action before the new deadline.

The Board warned candidates against waiting until the last day, noting that failure to act within the stipulated period would have consequences for the status of their admission offers.

According to JAMB, candidates who accept their admission offers will be able to proceed to print and obtain their admission letters.

Those who reject their offers will have their dashboards reverted to “Not Admitted”, allowing the Board to update its records and ensure that its national admission data accurately reflects the current status of candidates.

JAMB also clarified that candidates who are no longer attending the institution where their previous admission was offered, or who are currently enrolled in a different programme from the one for which the previous admission was offered, may accept the outstanding admission and subsequently apply for the appropriate correction or deletion of the admission, where applicable.

The Board said this would enable it to properly update the candidates’ admission status and records.

Similarly, candidates currently pursuing a second degree but who still have a previous admission offer that remains unaccepted may reject the outstanding offer and continue with their current programme.

JAMB further assured candidates who have received admission in the 2026 admission exercise but still have a previous admission offer pending that they have no reason to be apprehensive.

According to the Board, such candidates may reject their previous admission offer, and doing so will have no adverse effect on their 2026 admission.

JAMB said the extension was granted to provide all affected candidates with one final opportunity to clearly indicate whether they wish to accept or reject their outstanding admission offers, while also enabling the Board to maintain accurate and up-to-date national admission records.

The Board, however, stressed that there will be no further extension after the expiration of the new deadline on Wednesday, September 30, 2026.

It said all outstanding admission offers from 2021 to date that have neither been accepted nor rejected by the deadline will automatically be reverted to “Not Admitted” status and will remain so on the Board’s records.

JAMB therefore urged all affected candidates to act immediately rather than wait until the deadline.