…Parleys Commissioners, Seeks Hitch-Free 2026 UTME Registration
Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Registrar, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, has urged education commissioners in the 36 states to gear up efforts to stem the tides of examination malpractice during the conduct of the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
He made the appeal in Lagos when he met with them to strategise on the smooth registration and conduct of the 2026 UTME.
Prof Is-haq Oloyede, announced the commencement of registration for the 2026 UTME.
Oloyede stated that the purpose of the meeting is to sustain stakeholder collaboration with the commissioners for education to ensure hitch-free registration and conduct of the 2026 UTME.
He said the gathering is also meant to share JAMB’s vision, policies and strategies for the 2026 exercise, including new measures to strengthen integrity and efficiency.
Oloyede advised states to exercise due diligence in entering into Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with owners of Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres and warned that failure to do so could have serious consequences.
The registrar emphasized the Board’s commitment to sustaining its long-standing advocacy of 18 years as the minimum age for candidates seeking admission into Nigerian universities.
The JAMB boss hinted that candidates must declare their previous registration and admission status with the Board, and pointed out that some students were involved in examination malpractice during the conduct of last year’s UTME.
Prof Oloyede noted that it is a crime in law to run more than one undergraduate programme concurrently and that failure to disclose such previous admission is an offence which will attract sanction.
The registrar noted that only candidates who will not be less than 16 years old by 30 September 2026 are eligible to apply for the UTME and be considered for admission.
He maintained that underage candidates who will be less than 16 years old by 30 September 2026 will undergo an intensive evaluation to determine their eligibility for a waiver and that they must have scored not less than 80 per cent in UTME/A’LEVEL, PUTME, SSCE and in the exceptional candidate assessment.
Oloyede stressed that, unlike last year, the UTME results of the underage candidates will be released only at the conclusion of the complete evaluation process.
His words: “The sale of UTME application document, which is the e-PIN, will start earlier than commencement of actual registration, which is Jan. 19 to Feb. 26. The actual UTME registration period is between January 26th to February 28th at approved CBT centres.
His words, “The close of mock selection is February 16 while the sale of Direct Entry application documents and e-PIN vending will commence on March 2nd, and close by April 25.
“The JAMB boss said all centres involved in the UTME registration exercise would be monitored live from JAMB Headquarters, warning that any centre whose registration activities cannot be viewed from its headquarters will not be paid and such registration may be invalidated.
“Oloyede added: ‘This year 2026 presents a fresh opportunity to build on the progress achieved in recent years and to further strengthen the integrity of our admissions system.
“‘Today, we will outline key policies and innovation aimed at ensuring that the selection process remains fair, transparent, equitable, and widely accepted.’”
He confirmed that 924 centres had been screened and listed, adding that they would go through the final test before final accreditation to participate in the UTME registration and examination.
Oloyede disclosed that candidates are not required to pay any money as service charges to any CBT centre.
On distant posting, he said the Board does not post any candidate to any examination town (or group of towns) other than the one chosen by the candidate at the point of registration.
Oloyede advised candidates to register early since their preferred town may no longer have space for them at a late period and that the choice of a group of towns implies that candidates can be posted to any of the towns in the chosen group.
