The 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination got underway on Thursday, with more than 2.2 million candidates seated across 966 accredited computer based test centres nationwide, as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board launched one of Nigeria’s largest annual educational exercises. The examination runs from April 16 to April 25 and is being conducted in multiple daily sessions to accommodate the high volume of candidates.
Reports from the Rosa Mystica Academy CBT centre in Byazhin, Kubwa, within the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, indicated a calm and orderly start to proceedings. Biometric verification officer Peter Idu confirmed that 236 of the 250 candidates scheduled for the morning session were screened without incident. “The biometric session for this morning’s exam went well. There was no issue. Out of 250 candidates scheduled for the 8:30 examination, 236 turned up and were screened successfully,” he told journalists.
Centre supervisor Adeosun Olawola said the session began exactly as planned. “This is the first session, and everything is in order. The candidates also tried to arrive on time. We started checking them by around 6:30 a.m., and as you can see, the exam started at 8:30 a.m. on the dot, which is the stipulated time to commence the exam,” he said. No cases of misconduct were recorded, a development Olawola credited to early candidate briefings and thorough entry checks. All equipment at the centre, including computers and cooling systems, was confirmed to be in full working order following a trial run the day before.
JAMB had advised all candidates to print their examination slips in advance to avoid last minute complications. Before the main examination, the board conducted a mock UTME to test its systems, after which 23 CBT centres were delisted for failing to meet the required standards and 11 technical officials were dismissed for poor performance.
Biometric verification and real time monitoring systems have been deployed across all centres to deter malpractice. JAMB Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede urged officials to remain diligent, stressing that the outcome of the exercise rests significantly on their commitment. The board also revised the first session arrival time from 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., while the 8:30 a.m. start time remains unchanged. Operations continue across the country over the coming days.
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