The Federal Government has cancelled all admissions to the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna’s National Certificate in Education (NCE) and degree programmes for the 2026 academic session over alleged regulatory breaches in admissions, accreditation and university affiliations.

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

In a statement issued on Saturday and signed by Boriowo Folasade, Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, the government warned prospective students, parents and the public against seeking admission to the affected programmes.

It said the cancellation covered full-time, part-time and Distance Learning Studies (DLS) programmes, adding that no further admissions were permitted.

The government consequently advised prospective applicants not to accept admission offers or make payments for the affected programmes.

According to the statement, 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 (JAMB) and the accreditation standards of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE).

The National Universities Commission (NUC) was also directed to notify affected universities and ensure compliance with the order to discontinue NTI’s degree-awarding arrangements.

However, to protect students already enrolled, the ministry said the NCCE would conduct comprehensive accreditation of existing NCE II–IV Distance Learning programmes and study centres across the six geopolitical zones.

It added that eligible students would be allowed to complete their programmes, subject to accreditation outcomes and other regulatory requirements.

The ministry clarified that NTI’s statutory mandate remained teacher training, retraining, in-service development and continuous professional development.

It said the mandate included pedagogical capacity-building and the three-to-six-month Special Abridged Programme for serving teachers with non-Education degrees to acquire the professional competencies required for registration with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).

The ministry said the intervention aimed to protect students, uphold academic standards, and prevent prospective applicants from enrolling in unapproved programmes.

It urged members of the public to verify the accreditation and admission status of programmes with the relevant regulatory authorities and official government channels before making enrolment or payment decisions. (The Nation)