The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has disclosed that more than 22.5 million candidates registered for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and Direct Entry between 2015 and 2026, reflecting persistent pressure on Nigeria’s tertiary admission system.

Data released by the board shows a cumulative 22,537,451 registrations within the 11-year period. UTME candidates accounted for about 21.26 million of the figure, while approximately 1.28 million applied through Direct Entry. The compilation was done while the 2026 Direct Entry registration was still ongoing.

In 2015, JAMB recorded 1,644,072 registrations. The figure increased to 1,764,859 in 2016 and 1,882,559 in 2017, before dropping slightly to 1,793,018 in 2018.

Registrations rose to 1,989,682 in 2019 and climbed further in 2020 to 2,110,623, marking the first time the total crossed two million within the period under review. A sharp decline followed in 2021, when 1,428,209 candidates registered.

The numbers recovered in 2022 with 1,859,532 registrations, dipped again to 1,635,673 in 2023, and surged to 2,040,018 in 2024. In 2025, the board recorded 2,093,329 candidates.

For 2026, JAMB posted the highest total in the 11-year span, with 2,295,877 candidates, including 2,243,245 UTME applicants and 52,632 Direct Entry registrations.

At its 2026 policy meeting on admissions held in Abuja, JAMB and key stakeholders also approved minimum admission benchmarks for the 2026/2027 academic session.

Universities will admit candidates from 150 and above, while polytechnics and colleges of education will use 100 as their minimum score. Colleges of Nursing fixed their benchmark at 150.