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 Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is’haq Oloyede, disclosed this on Wednesday in Ilorin, Kwara State, during an ongoing accreditation tour of CBT centres. He said 52 examination teams had been deployed across the country to re-accredit centres and disqualify those that fail to meet the board’s standards.
Oloyede explained that the annual accreditation exercise was critical to ensuring strict compliance with established requirements, stressing that previous approval did not guarantee continued eligibility.
“The fact that you qualified last year does not mean you qualify this year,” he said.
Describing the process as “so far so good,” the registrar noted that only a few centres previously implicated in examination malpractice had attempted to resurface under new guises.
“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.
He disclosed 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 National Identification Numbers (NIN), to prevent abuse,” Oloyede said.
He added that staff and proctors previously implicated in malpractice had also 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,” he said.
According to the registrar, computers used in delisted centres have also been permanently barred from the JAMB system.
“Once a computer set is found to belong to a centre we have delisted, it can never return to our system, even if sold to another CBT centre,” he added.
Oloyede further disclosed that a few breaches had been detected during the ongoing exercise, prompting the invitation of security agencies to investigate, noting that such actions constituted violations of both JAMB regulations and Nigerian law.
Speaking on the accreditation requirements, the Chief Technical Adviser to the accreditation team in Kwara State, Prof. Veronica Mejabi, said centres must meet clearly defined 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.
Mejabi 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 effective monitoring.
Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Egbewole (SAN), who led one of the validation teams, warned candidates against engaging in examination malpractice.
“If you cheat, you will be caught, and when you are caught, that is the end,” he cautioned.
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