Jamb Central Admission Processing System (CAPS): How it Works and Benefits

The newly introduced Central Admission Processing System, CAPS came to replace the manual process of admitting student and human errors associated with it. This post clearly explains in simple terms how this system works and the major benefits to candidates and other stake holders.

How the Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) Works

Each school will have its own dashboard on the Central Admission Processing System. This dashboard will be managed by the admission officers of the different schools. The school's admission officer will have to set the admission criteria of their schools and the admission quote of the school on the dash board.

The Admission Officers will set the General UTME cut-off marks, the UTME Cut-off mark for each course or programme, Post-UTME screening cut-off marks, O’level grading as well as other admission criteria the school wants to use in selecting. Please note that the admission criteria differ from school to school. Some school may use all the admission criteria mentioned above while some schools will not.

The Admission officers will equally determine the percentage weight for each of the different admission criteria set on the system. e.g UTME Score =50%, Post-UTME Score = 30% etc (note that the total percentage is 100).

Once this is done, the system will automatically rank and list the candidates that are qualified for admission in the school based on the criteria the school has set in the system.

A proposed admission list would now be made available by the system which the school admission officer is to download and send to all the principal officers of the school for approval. If the school rejects a candidate on the list, a reason has to be given.

With the approval of the list, the final list of candidates is re-uploaded on JAMB portal. JAMB will now notify the candidates on the list of their admission.

Candidates are to either accept or reject the admission within 72 hours (3 days). This means that if the school of your choice offers you admission into a course different from the one you applied to study or you no longer want to gain admission in the school, you have the right to reject the admission. If on the other hand, you want to be admitted in the school, you just go ahead and accept the admission.

If you reject the admission, your profile and details becomes available in the market place for other institutions that can accept the qualification you have for the course you intend to study to offer you admission.

Once any school offers you admission and you accept the admission, you have been automatically admitted in the school. You no longer have the privilege to reject the admission and be put in the market place for other institutions to consider you for admission. You either take it or wait for another year. 

Major Benefits of CAPS to Candidates and Other Stake Holders

1.        Prevent back door admission in the sense that only candidates that selects and accepts admission from an institution will be admitted by the institution. The idea of getting admission in a school because you know a top official in the school is over because any name introduced in the system which is not originally on the system for that particular school will not be accepted by the system neither will it be approved by JAMB for admission.

2.       The system enables JAMB to verify the O'level results uploaded by candidates directly from the examination bodies like WAEC, NECO and NABTEB.

3.         The system will help in ensuring that schools maintain almost a uniform academic calendar

4.         The system will equally ensure that institutions comply with admission deadline

5.       The system will equally help make it easier for schools to fill their admission quota if there are admission spaces remaining after the school has admitted candidates that applied to it by going to the "Market Place" on the system to look for candidates that have met their requirements that have not gotten admission and offering such candidates admission consideration.

6.       This system will increase the chances of candidates being offered admission through the "CAPS Market Place"

7.         Eliminates multiple admissions.

8.         Enhances Inclusiveness, Equity, Transparency & Accountability in the Admission Process

9.      A Student's status can be updated throughout their academic life in the Institution (Admission deferment, transfer, withdrawal, rustication, expulsion, and death)

10.      Government departments and institutions can easily access this data for official purposes. (e.g. NYSC, Scholarship Boards).