The College of Nursing Sciences at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), also referred to as the School of Nursing, UMTH, sits on Bama Road in Maiduguri, Borno State. It trains students for a career in professional nursing under the regulation of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (N&MCN) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). This article explains what it costs to attend, who qualifies for admission, and how the application process runs for the 2026/2027 academic session.
Background of the College
The school traces its origin to August 1981, when it began operating from a rented building along Damboa Road with a staff of four and an initial student population of twenty-nine. It moved into the University Teaching Hospital premises in February 1982, where it took over a hospital ward that was converted into a classroom, along with a practical room and store for early clinical training. By May of the same year, it relocated to its present and permanent site. The Nursing and Midwifery Council conducted several accreditation visits across the following decades, including inspections in 1988, 2002, and 2005, gradually confirming and extending the school’s standing. Today, the college runs a General Nursing programme structured as an uninterrupted four-year course leading to a Higher National Diploma (HND), built on eight semesters of combined classroom instruction and hospital-based clinical practice.
Courses and Programme Structure
The college’s flagship offering is the ND/HND General Nursing Sciences programme, a continuous four-year course that does not have a break between the ND and HND stages the way some polytechnic programmes do. Students move through both levels as one uninterrupted academic journey, combining theory with supervised clinical placements inside the teaching hospital. Beyond the general nursing track, UMTH separately runs other health training programmes through its wider Colleges structure, including post-basic nursing specializations such as operative nursing and critical care nursing, along with a School of Health Information Management. These sit under the same UMTH Colleges umbrella but maintain separate admission cycles, entry requirements, and fee structures from the College of Nursing Sciences’ main ND/HND programme.
Admission Requirements
Gaining a slot at the College of Nursing Sciences, UMTH depends on meeting both an academic qualification threshold and a set of administrative conditions. The requirements below reflect the standard the college applies to its ND/HND General Nursing admissions.
O’Level qualification. A candidate needs five credit passes obtained in not more than two sittings, drawn from WAEC, NECO, NABTEB, or NBAIS. The compulsory subjects are English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. A combination of results from two of these examination bodies is acceptable, provided all five credits are covered between them.
JAMB UTME requirement. Every applicant must sit for the JAMB Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and register the college as their institution of choice, with a minimum aggregate score of 150. Candidates who initially chose a different institution or course on their JAMB profile need to use the JAMB portal to effect a change of institution and course before the college can process their application, and this update must reflect correctly alongside their O’Level results on the JAMB portal.
Age limit. The college sets a minimum admission age of sixteen years and a maximum of twenty-four years for all candidates. This range is strictly applied, and candidates outside it are not eligible regardless of their academic scores.
Supporting documents. Applicants must prepare a passport photograph in JPG or PNG format not exceeding 100KB, along with a single combined PDF file (capped at 5MB) containing their birth certificate, an indigene letter, primary school certificate, secondary school certificate, secondary school testimonial, JAMB result slip, and proof of payment receipt. Only O’Level results printed directly from the examination body’s official website, or photocopies of the original certificate, are accepted at the verification stage — result slips from unofficial sources are rejected.
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| O’Level credits | 5 credits including English, Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry |
| Sittings allowed | Not more than 2 |
| Accepted exam bodies | WAEC, NECO, NABTEB, NBAIS |
| Minimum JAMB score | 150 |
| Age range | 16 to 24 years |
| Programme duration | 4 years, uninterrupted ND/HND |
| Regulatory bodies | Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, NBTE |
Application Process
The admission cycle follows a defined sequence, and candidates who skip a step or submit documents out of order risk disqualification at the screening stage.
- Pay the Post-UTME fee. Candidates pay a non-refundable fee of ₦2,000 at the UMTH Billing Office. This fee is strictly for processing the post-UTME screening and does not double as an acceptance or tuition payment.
- Complete the online application form. After payment, the candidate proceeds to fill the online application form for screening through the designated UMTH Colleges application portal.
- Attend the in-person screening exercise. Shortlisted candidates take part in a physical screening exercise conducted on the college premises. For the 2026/2027 admission cycle, this screening runs from 4th August to 16th September 2026.
- Submit verified documents. At the screening venue, candidates present original certificates alongside their compiled PDF file for verification. Discrepancies between the uploaded documents and the physical originals can lead to disqualification.
- Await admission confirmation. Successful candidates receive notification of their admission status, after which registration and fee payment procedures follow.
School Fees
Fee figures for professional nursing colleges attached to Nigerian teaching hospitals typically change less frequently than fees at universities, and many stay fixed across two or more academic sessions before any upward review. For the College of Nursing Sciences, UMTH, the commonly reported tuition range for its ND/HND General Nursing programme sits between ₦75,000 and ₦110,000 per session for indigent and government-subsidized categories, positioning it among the more affordable nursing training options in Northern Nigeria compared to teaching hospital nursing schools in other regions where fees frequently exceed ₦150,000.
This figure typically covers tuition alone. Students should budget separately for several other charges that apply across most Nigerian nursing colleges attached to teaching hospitals:
- Post-UTME/screening fee of ₦2,000, paid before the screening stage as outlined above.
- Acceptance fee, paid once admission is confirmed, to secure the offered slot.
- Uniform and clinical kit costs, since nursing training requires standardized uniforms, aprons, and basic clinical instruments that students purchase either through the college or an approved supplier.
- Hostel accommodation, for students who choose to reside within college-provided housing rather than commute from outside the hospital premises.
- Practical and clinical posting fees, which cover the cost of supervised ward placements that form a core part of nursing training.
- Library, ICT, and medical fees, standard charges applied across most Nigerian tertiary and professional health training institutions.
Because tuition figures at professional colleges tied to teaching hospitals are periodically reviewed by hospital management and are not always republished in a single, permanently fixed public document, admitted candidates should confirm the exact current-session amount directly at the UMTH Billing Office or through the official UMTH Colleges portal once their admission is confirmed, rather than relying solely on previous years’ figures.
Why Fee Verification Matters Before Payment
Nigerian tertiary institutions occasionally revise fees between academic sessions, and payment portals are updated to reflect the current figure only after admission lists are released. Paying based on an outdated figure, whether too low or too high, can cause delays in registration. The safest approach is to wait until an official admission notification arrives, then check the amount displayed directly on the payment portal or confirm with the Billing Office before making any transfer. Candidates should also avoid third-party agents who claim to process payments on their behalf, since all legitimate fee payments at UMTH run through the official Billing Office or its designated online payment channel.
Comparing UMTH’s Nursing Fees to Other Nursing Colleges
Nursing college tuition across Nigeria varies by state funding structure, institutional ownership, and regional cost of living. Colleges attached to federal teaching hospitals in the North-East, including UMTH, tend to maintain lower fees than similar programmes in some Southern teaching hospitals, largely because of differences in subvention levels and local living costs. This makes the College of Nursing Sciences, UMTH, a reasonably budget-friendly option for candidates who meet its academic and age requirements, particularly those already resident in Borno State or the wider North-East region.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is JAMB compulsory for admission into the College of Nursing Sciences, UMTH?
Yes. Every candidate must sit for the JAMB UTME and choose the college as their institution of first choice, with a minimum score of 150.
What is the age requirement for admission?
Candidates must be at least 16 years old and not older than 24 years at the point of application.
Does the ND and HND run as separate application stages?
No. The programme runs as one uninterrupted four-year course, so students progress from ND-level to HND-level content without a fresh application or separate admission process partway through.
How much is the Post-UTME screening fee?
The Post-UTME fee is ₦2,000, paid at the UMTH Billing Office, and this amount is non-refundable regardless of the screening outcome.
Where can candidates confirm the exact current school fees?
Since tuition figures can be reviewed between sessions, admitted candidates should confirm the exact current amount through the UMTH Billing Office or the official UMTH Colleges application portal after receiving admission confirmation.