The 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) commenced nationwide on Thursday, with over 2.2 million candidates expected to participate across accredited centres.
The examination, conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), is scheduled to run from April 16 to April 22, with multiple sessions held daily.
Registrar of JAMB, Is-haq Oloyede, urged examination officials to demonstrate high levels of professionalism and commitment, noting that the success of the exercise depends largely on their dedication.
Oloyede gave the charge during a virtual final briefing with technical officers ahead of the examination. He commended staff, ad hoc personnel, service providers and technical advisers for their roles in the successful conduct of the mock examination.
He, however, noted that most of the challenges recorded during the mock exercise were due to inadequate assessment of centres by some technical officials.
The registrar disclosed that incentive packages would be awarded to teams that exhibit exceptional performance, particularly in the prompt handling of examination materials and timely submission of reports.
Reaffirming the board’s zero-tolerance stance on examination malpractice, Oloyede warned candidates against bringing prohibited items into examination halls. He added that advanced technology, including biometric verification and real-time monitoring systems, has been deployed to ensure the credibility of the examination.
He further stated that candidates whose biometric data could not be verified would be rescheduled to sit for the examination at designated centres approved by the board.
The UTME remains one of the country’s largest coordinated educational exercises, involving extensive logistics, technology deployment and personnel management nationwide.
Each examination day is divided into four sessions to ease congestion at Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres and enhance the efficiency of biometric verification processes.
For the 2026 exercise, about 966 CBT centres are participating, each required to meet operational standards, including functional computer systems, stable internet connectivity and adequately trained personnel.
