Sharon Adurokiya, Reporting
THE Owners of Private Schools Association of Nigeria (OPSAN) has demanded an immediate halt to UTME admissions by the Federal Government for the 2026/2027 academic session, expressing dissatisfaction that candidates are being admitted without waiting for the release of all O’Level results.
In a press statement signed by its National President, Professor Uzochukwu Solomon Nwanonyuo, and made available to newsmen in Onitsha after a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, the association described the situation as unfair and unjust, noting that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has commenced admissions based only on WAEC results while many other results are still pending.
OPSAN lamented that a good percentage of the 2025/2026 WAEC results are yet to be released in some public, mission and private secondary schools.
Worse still, it noted, the National Examination Council (NECO) and the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) are yet to release their results, yet universities have already started and in some cases concluded their Post-UTME and admission processes.
The association noted that many students depend solely on NECO and NABTEB for admission, adding that technical colleges, federal science and technical colleges, and vocational and commercial schools rely on NECO and NABTEB to secure admission into higher institutions.
It warned that continuing admissions without their results automatically shuts these students out.
“This is not proper and not justified. Some federal universities have already concluded admissions for professional courses while students waiting for NECO and NABTEB have not even had a chance,” OPSAN stated.
The association therefore appealed to the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, to urgently intervene and direct JAMB to put all admission processes on hold.
It also called on the National Universities Commission (NUC) to instruct universities across the country to suspend Post-UTME admissions until all O’Level results are released.
OPSAN further urged WAEC to release a comprehensive list of all candidates who sat for the 2025/2026 internal examinations, and called on NECO and NABTEB to expedite action on the release of their results to ensure no child is left behind.
The association described the current situation as a national disaster and a misnomer, arguing that Nigeria’s own national examination bodies are being relegated while preference is given to WAEC, a West African body.
According to OPSAN, granting admissions with only WAEC results while sidelining NECO and NABTEB weakens national institutions and sends a wrong signal that they are irrelevant.
“JAMB granting admission without waiting for NECO and NABTEB is a slap on our national examination bodies. Nigeria at this stage of development should be strengthening NECO and NABTEB, not indirectly making WAEC the only yardstick for UTME admissions.
“All O’Level results must be released before admissions commence to give every Nigerian child a level playing ground,” Professor Nwanonyuo concluded.
