The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has increased the number of accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide from fewer than 800 last year to 1,000, as preparations for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) draws near.
The update was presented before the Nigerian Senate by Dr Muftau Bello, a director in the office of the Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede. According to JAMB, the expansion is aimed at improving access, easing logistics, and ensuring smoother nationwide coordination of the examination.
JAMB explained that the accreditation of CBT centres was finalized after an evaluation process to determine their suitability for conducting the examination.
The accreditation team includes chief external examiners such as vice-chancellors, rectors, and provosts, alongside technical advisers, JAMB state coordinators, and other board officials.The board hopes to make candidate placement more flexible and better structured compared to previous years.
JAMB spokesperson, Dr Fabian Benjamin, urged candidates to complete their registration before the deadline, stressing that there will be no extension this year.
He expressed concern over the low use of available registration capacity across centres nationwide.
According to him, JAMB has the capacity to register up to 100,000 candidates daily. However, centres are currently operating at barely 30% of that capacity, meaning many prospective candidates are yet to register.
JAMB aims to surpass the 1.95 million candidates recorded in the 2025 examination. As of February 17, the board confirmed the registration of 1.5 million candidates for the 2026 UTME.
Things to note
- Sale of UTME ePINs began on January 19 and ends today February 26
- Registration runs from January 26 to February 28 at approved CBT centres nationwide
- Mock exam selection ended February 16.Direct Entry (DE) application sales and ePIN generation to begin on March 2 and close on April 25
- The 2026 UTME is scheduled to hold from April 16 to April 25, while the optional Mock-UTME will take place on March 28, 2026
JAMB has warned candidates to ignore viral SMS messages from unofficial sources and rely only on verified information from the board.
