The 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination commenced on Thursday, April 16, with 2.2 million candidates filing into 966 accredited Computer Based Test centres across Nigeria for what remains the country’s largest single coordinated education exercise.
At the 23 Technology Limited CBT Centre in NAF Valley Estate, accreditation began at 6:30 a.m., ahead of the 8:30 a.m. start time. Of 250 candidates scheduled for the first session, 223 were present. One candidate could not be properly identified during verification and was not allowed to sit the examination. The centre is conducting three sessions on the day, with 750 candidates expected in total. The first session concluded at 10:30 a.m., with preparations for the next session already underway.
JAMB Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, at a virtual final briefing for technical officers ahead of the examination, charged officials to demonstrate maximum commitment. He credited the success of the recently concluded Mock UTME to the dedication of personnel and warned that further sanctions would follow the conclusion of ongoing investigations into underperformance.
Oloyede disclosed that 23 CBT centres were delisted after failing to meet performance standards during the mock examination, and 11 technical officers were removed from the exercise for poor performance. He added that incentives would be awarded to teams that performed exceptionally well, based on criteria including prompt upload and download of examination materials, accurate documentation and timely submission of reports.
The arrival time for the first session was adjusted from 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. ahead of this year’s examination, with the 8:30 a.m. start retained to allow thorough biometric verification and system checks before candidates enter examination halls.
On unverified candidates, Oloyede stated that the names of candidates who could not be verified would be collated and scheduled to sit their examinations at designated centres approved by the Board.
The examination is spread across seven days to accommodate the large candidate population without overburdening centres. Each day runs multiple sessions, with the staggered structure designed to reduce congestion and protect the integrity of the process.
Last Updated on April 16, 2026 by Ola Funmilayo
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