2.2 Million Candidates Sit for 2026 UTME Nationwide as JAMB Begins Exams

The 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination began across Nigeria on Thursday, with more than 2.2 million candidates expected to take part in one of the country’s largest annual examinations.

The exam, conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, will run from April 16 to April 22 at accredited centres nationwide. Candidates are scheduled in multiple sessions each day as JAMB manages the massive number of applicants.

Ahead of the examination, JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, called on officials to show professionalism, discipline, and full commitment to their duties. He said the smooth conduct of the UTME depends heavily on the quality of work done by supervisors, technical teams, and support staff.

Oloyede gave the charge during a virtual final briefing for technical officers before the nationwide rollout.

He also praised staff members, ad hoc workers, service providers, and technical advisers for their role in the recently conducted mock examination. According to him, the trial run helped the board identify weak areas before the main exercise began.

The registrar said many of the issues recorded during the mock exam were linked to poor assessment of some centres by technical officers. He urged officials to be more thorough during the live examination period.

To improve performance, Oloyede said teams that handle operations efficiently, especially in the movement of materials and submission of reports, would receive incentive rewards.

JAMB also repeated its warning against examination malpractice. Candidates were told not to bring banned items into exam halls, as the board has adopted strict monitoring measures.

According to the registrar, biometric verification systems and real-time monitoring technology have been deployed to protect the credibility of the examination and reduce fraud.

He added that any candidate whose biometric data cannot be verified will be rescheduled to write the exam later at centres approved by the board.