The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has screened a total of 924 CBT centres across Nigeria in preparation for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The Registrar of JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed this on Saturday during an interactive session with state Commissioners for Education held in Lagos.
Oloyede said the centres would still undergo a final test phase before being fully accredited to participate in the 2026 UTME registration and examination process.
According to him, JAMB conducts an extensive accreditation exercise ahead of every UTME to assess the technical suitability and operational readiness of each CBT centre.
“A rigorous accreditation exercise has already been carried out for the 2026 UTME,” Oloyede said.
He explained that the accreditation teams were made up of Chief External Examiners, including Vice-Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts, alongside Technical Advisers, JAMB State Coordinators and JAMB Technical Officers.
Oloyede said the interactive meeting with Commissioners for Education was aimed at strengthening collaboration to ensure a seamless registration process and smooth conduct of the 2026 UTME and Direct Entry (DE) examinations.
According to him, the engagement was also designed to share JAMB’s vision, policies and strategies for the 2026 exercise, including new measures to enhance integrity, efficiency and examination security.
He added that the board sought to leverage state platforms for effective public sensitisation, gather constructive feedback to refine operational plans, and strengthen joint efforts to curb examination malpractice nationwide.
Providing details on the registration timeline, Oloyede said UTME and Mock candidates would register before Direct Entry candidates.
He explained that the sale of UTME application documents (e-PINs) would begin ahead of the actual registration period.
“Actual UTME registration will run from January 26 to February 28 at all accredited CBT centres, while e-PIN sales will start earlier, from January 19 to February 26,” he said.
He added that the deadline for mock examination selection is February 16, while the sale of Direct Entry application documents and e-PINs will commence on March 2 and end on April 25.
Oloyede said registration services would also be available at all JAMB offices nationwide.
On age eligibility, he stated that only candidates who would be at least 16 years old by September 30, 2026, would qualify for the UTME.
He noted that underage admission remained a rare exception and that candidates below 16 would undergo a strict evaluation process to qualify for a waiver.
According to him, such candidates must score a minimum of 80 percent in UTME, A’ Level, Post-UTME, SSCE and an exceptional assessment before being considered.
Oloyede warned that underage candidates’ UTME results would only be released after the completion of the evaluation process.
He also issued a strong warning against examination malpractice, revealing that JAMB uncovered syndicates during the 2025 UTME involved in identity manipulation, including the use of multiple National Identification Numbers (NINs).
“Any candidate involved in multiple registrations or identity manipulation will have all associated registrations nullified and will be disqualified from the examination and admission processes,” he said.
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