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Federal Government cancels all 2026 admissions into the National Teachers’ Institute’s NCE and degree programmes over alleged regulatory breaches.
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NTI directed to discontinue university affiliations and degree-awarding arrangements, as the Ministry says the institute is not authorised to award NCE or university degrees.
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NCCE to conduct comprehensive accreditation of existing NCE II–IV distance-learning programmes and study centres across the six geopolitical zones to determine which students can complete their studies.
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Government reaffirms NTI’s mandate to train and retrain teachers, including through its Special Abridged Programme for serving teachers with non-Education degrees.
November 07, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government has cancelled all admissions into the National Certificate in Education (NCE) and degree programmes of the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, for the 2026 academic session over alleged breaches of regulatory requirements governing admissions, accreditation and university affiliations.
The Federal Ministry of Education, which announced the decision on Saturday, also directed the institute to discontinue all university affiliations and degree-awarding arrangements, declaring that NTI was not authorised to award NCE or university degrees.
A statement signed by the Ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, warned prospective students, parents and the general public against seeking admission into the affected programmes.
The Ministry said all admissions into the programmes for the 2026 academic session had been cancelled, adding that no further admissions would be permitted through full-time, part-time or Distance Learning Studies (DLS) arrangements.
It advised prospective applicants not to apply, accept admission offers or make payments for any of the affected programmes.
According to the Ministry, the decision followed violations of the Ministerial Operational Guidelines issued on September 12, 2025.
It explained that admissions into NCE programmes must comply with the applicable requirements of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the accreditation standards prescribed by the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE).
The Ministry also said the National Universities Commission (NUC) had been directed to notify affected universities and ensure compliance with the directive discontinuing NTI’s degree-awarding arrangements.
However, the government said the cancellation would not automatically prevent students already enrolled in the institute’s programmes from completing their studies.
It disclosed that the NCCE would conduct a comprehensive accreditation exercise covering existing NCE II–IV Distance Learning programmes and study centres across the six geopolitical zones.
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According to the statement, eligible students would be allowed to complete their programmes, subject to the outcome of the accreditation exercise and other applicable regulatory requirements.
Reaffirming the statutory mandate of the institute, the government said NTI remained responsible for teacher training, retraining, in-service development and continuous professional development.
It said the institute was expected to continue providing pedagogical capacity-building programmes, alongside the three-to-six-month Special Abridged Programme designed for serving teachers with degrees outside Education.
The programme enables such teachers to acquire the professional competencies required for registration with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), subject to applicable regulations.
The Ministry said the intervention was intended to protect students, uphold academic standards and prevent prospective applicants from enrolling in unapproved programmes.
It, therefore, urged parents, prospective students and members of the public to verify the accreditation and admission status of educational programmes through relevant regulatory authorities and official government channels before making enrolment or payment decisions.
Established in 1976, the National Teachers’ Institute, headquartered in Kaduna, is a federal institution mandated to provide teacher education through training, retraining and professional development. Its activities include distance-learning programmes and capacity-building initiatives aimed at improving the professional competence of serving teachers.
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