FG Cancels National Teachers’ Institute Admissions, says It Lacks Degree-awarding Status

The federal ministry of education says it has cancelled the 2026 National Certificate in Education (NCE) and degree programmes admission by the National Teachers’ Institute’s over regulatory breaches.

In a statement issued on Saturday by Boriowo Folasade, its director, press and public relations, the ministry said the sanction includes admissions, accreditations and university affiliations by the institute.

The ministry directed the institute to discontinue all university affiliations and degree-awarding arrangements, noting it was not authorised to award NCE and university degrees.

It warned prospective students, parents and the general public against seeking admission into the affected programmes, including full-time, part-time and distance learning studies.

“Consequently, all admissions into NTI’s NCE and degree programmes for the 2026 academic session have been cancelled, while the Institute has been directed to discontinue all university affiliations and degree-awarding arrangements, as it is not authorised to award NCE and university degrees,” the statement reads.

It further cautioned members of the public against applying for the programmes, accepting and processing admission offers.

“The ministry emphasises that no further admissions into the affected programmes, whether full-time, part-time or through Distance Learning Studies (DLS), are permitted,” it stated.

The ministry said the directive followed violations of the ministerial operational guidelines issued on September 12, 2025.

It explained that NCE admissions must comply with the requirements of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and accreditation standards of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE).

The ministry directed the National Universities Commission to notify affected universities and ensure compliance with the order discontinuing NTI’s degree-awarding arrangements.

It said it would protect students already enrolled in existing programmes, particularly those in the NCE II–IV distance learning studies.

The ministry said the NCCE would conduct comprehensive accreditation of the existing programmes and study centres across the six geopolitical zones to determine which students could be allowed to complete their studies.

“To protect innocent students already enrolled, the NCCE will conduct comprehensive accreditation of existing NCE II–IV Distance Learning programmes and study centres across the six geopolitical zones,” the statement reads.

“Eligible students may complete their programmes, subject to accreditation outcomes and regulatory requirements.”

The ministry said NTI’s statutory responsibilities should remain focused on teacher training, retraining, in-service development and continuous professional development.

It said the institute was expected to provide pedagogical capacity-building and a three-to-six-month special abridged programme for serving teachers with non-education degrees to acquire professional competencies required for registration with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).