The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has approved an extension of the 2025 admissions deadline for public universities from Friday, October 31, 2025, to Monday, November 17, 2025.
The decision was announced in a statement issued by Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Board’s Public Communication Adviser, who said the extension was necessitated by “emergent and compelling circumstances” affecting the timely completion of admissions by some institutions.
JAMB recalled that at the 2025 Policy Meeting on Admissions, held on July 18, 2025, and chaired by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, the board had initially fixed October 31 as the deadline for all public universities to conclude their admissions.
The board explained that the timeline was strategically set to allow other tertiary institutions — including private universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and innovation enterprise institutions — to finalize their respective admissions before the national closing date of December 31, 2025.
While commending universities that worked diligently to meet the earlier deadline, JAMB said the extension became inevitable due to two major developments:
An appeal by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU) following disruptions caused by a court order halting the 2025/2026 admission process — an injunction lifted only on October 28, 2025.
The recent accreditation of 229 new academic programmes across 37 universities by the National Universities Commission (NUC) on October 29, 2025, which required fresh scheduling of admissions into the newly approved courses.
“In light of these developments, and to ensure fairness and inclusiveness, the Board hereby extends the deadline for the completion of 2025 public university admissions to Monday, November 17, 2025,” the statement read.
JAMB emphasized that the new date was final and binding, urging all public universities to comply strictly.
“While expressing appreciation to all institutions for their cooperation and effort toward meeting the initial target, the Board wishes to emphasise that this new deadline must be strictly adhered to,” Dr. Benjamin stated.
He reaffirmed JAMB’s commitment to maintaining a seamless, transparent, and credible admission process that upholds national education goals while respecting institutional autonomy.