The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced plans to accredit 1,039 computer-based test (CBT) centres nationwide for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is’haq Oloyede, disclosed this on Wednesday in Ilorin during an accreditation tour of CBT centres.
Oloyede said 52 examination teams had been deployed across the country to re-accredit centres and disqualify those that failed to meet the board’s standards.
“The board is planning to accredit a total of 1,039 computer-based test centres across the country for the 2026 examination.
“We have 52 teams deployed nationwide to carry out this exercise of reaccrediting and, in some cases, disqualifying centres that fail to meet our standards,” he said.
He explained that the annual accreditation exercise was necessary to ensure compliance with established requirements, noting that approval in previous years did not guarantee continued eligibility.
“The fact that you qualified last year does not mean you qualify this year,” Oloyede said.
Describing the exercise as “so far, so good,” the registrar noted that a few centres previously implicated in malpractice had attempted to resurface.
“Some centres that were implicated in examination malpractice last year — not in Kwara State, though — have repackaged themselves this year, moving from one centre to another,” he said.
Oloyede added that JAMB had strengthened collaboration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to prevent operators of blacklisted centres from re-entering the system.
“We have liaised with the CAC so that once you are a director of a failed CBT centre, you cannot resurrect anywhere in the country. We now have access to directors’ details, including their NINs, to prevent abuse,” he said.
He also disclosed that staff and proctors previously implicated in malpractice had been barred from participating in future examinations.
“All individuals involved have their NINs flagged. If they move elsewhere, they will destroy that centre because we will not approve it,” Oloyede said.
The registrar further revealed that computers used in delisted centres had been permanently blocked from the JAMB system.
ALSO READ: Full List: Winners, FIFA ‘The Best’ 11 Award 2025
“Once a computer set is found belonging to a centre we have delisted, it can never come back to our system, even if sold to another CBT centre,” he said.
According to him, JAMB had detected a few breaches and had invited security agencies to investigate, stressing that such actions violated both the board’s regulations and Nigerian law.
Speaking on the accreditation requirements, the Chief Technical Adviser to the accreditation team in Kwara State, Prof. Veronica Mejabi, said CBT centres must meet both hard and soft criteria.
“The most important hard criterion is the implementation of a specified network topology to ensure quick troubleshooting during examinations,” she said.
She added that centres must also provide alternative power sources such as inverters and generators, while soft requirements include holding areas for candidates, adequate toilet facilities and the installation of CCTV cameras for monitoring.
Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Egbewole, who led one of the validation teams, warned candidates against examination malpractice.
“If you cheat, you will be caught, and when you are caught, that is the end,” he cautioned.