The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has warned universities and other tertiary institutions against issuing admission letters to candidates, insisting that the board is the only body legally authorised to issue official admission letters in Nigeria.

The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Segun Aina, gave the warning while receiving a delegation from Veritas University, Bwari, Abuja, which paid him a courtesy visit.

Aina said the responsibility for issuing official admission letters rests solely with JAMB and covers universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country.

He expressed concern that candidates often believe admission offers are genuine once they receive documents bearing the names of institutions, even when such documents do not meet the board’s requirements.

The registrar urged institutions involved in the practice to desist and ensure that candidates obtain the appropriate admission documents from JAMB.

He also recalled that the Federal Ministry of Education had directed that admissions into tertiary institutions be processed through the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS).

According to him, admissions conducted outside the approved system are illegal and invalid.

Aina further explained that institutions cannot substitute their own admission letters for the official documents issued by JAMB after candidates have accepted their offers through CAPS.

He added that only admissions recognised through the platform would be accepted for purposes such as mobilisation for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).