Prospective students seeking to enroll at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and other open-distance learning institutions across the country must now complete their registration through the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB), according to Naija News.

As part of this requirement, students must also register using their individual National Identification Numbers (NIN).

This decision was implemented to prevent illicit activities.

In a statement issued by JAMB and made public in Abuja on Monday, the Board assured applicants that the registration procedure would be streamlined.

The advisory states, “To counter the fraudulent activities of those attempting to compromise candidates’ records through dubious registration channels and in compliance with its enabling act, JAMB has mandated that all applicants wishing to study in Nigerian tertiary institutions must provide their NIN while registering for any programme of study, regardless of whether the mode of study is regular or non-regular."

"Consequently, it is now mandatory for all prospective candidates in the non-regular category (NOUN, Distance Learning, Part-time, and Sandwich programmes) to create a profile code before registering with JAMB by sending their NIN via their unique phone number to either of the Board’s sort codes (55019 or 66019).”

The advisory also highlighted that previous candidates in non-regular programs must create a profile with their respective NINs to utilize any of the Board’s services if they have not already linked their NIN or unique phone number on the platform.

“JAMB, as a responsive organization, will continue to make the registration process as flexible as possible by making its platform available throughout the year.

“It is, therefore, expected that candidates who fall under this category will apply through JAMB before approaching their preferred institutions to process their admission with their respective JAMB registration numbers. They will also be expected to pay their preferred institution a processing fee as determined by the respective institutions,” the statement added.