Godsent Ogbebor
JAMB Tightens Rules Ahead of 2026 UTME, Accredits 1,039 CBT Centres
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has begun a nationwide screening of Computer-Based Test centres, with plans to approve 1,039 facilities for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
The board’s Registrar, Professor Is’haq Oloyede, said the exercise is aimed at raising standards and blocking loopholes that allow examination malpractice. He spoke in Ilorin while leading an accreditation tour of centres across the country.
Oloyede explained that teams had been deployed to assess centres afresh, noting that approval in previous years no longer guarantees continued use. According to him, centres that fail to meet requirements will be dropped, regardless of their past status.
He said only a few centres previously linked to malpractice had attempted to return under new identities, adding that JAMB had taken steps to stop such practices.
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The registrar disclosed that the board is working closely with the Corporate Affairs Commission to trace directors of blacklisted centres and prevent them from operating elsewhere.
Oloyede also said individuals involved in earlier breaches, including supervisors and technical staff, had been barred from future examinations, while computers traced to delisted centres had been permanently removed from JAMB’s system.
He noted that some irregularities had already been uncovered during the exercise and that security agencies had been invited to investigate, stressing that such actions go beyond examination offences and amount to violations of the law.
On accreditation standards, JAMB officials said centres must meet strict technical and welfare conditions, including proper network systems, steady power supply, holding areas for candidates and surveillance cameras.
Meanwhile, candidates were also warned to avoid cheating, with officials insisting that offenders would be detected and sanctioned.
