JAMB to Accredit 1,039 CBT Centres Nationwide for 2026 UTME

• JAMB has announced plans to accredit 1,039 CBT centres nationwide for the 2026 UTME, deploying 52 teams to reassess facilities and permanently block centres, officials, and equipment linked to examination malpractice.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced plans to accredit 1,039 Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres across Nigeria ahead of the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is’haq Oloyede, disclosed this on Wednesday in Ilorin during an ongoing accreditation tour of CBT centres nationwide. He revealed that 52 examination teams had been deployed across the country to reassess centres, with those failing to meet required standards facing disqualification.

According to Oloyede, the annual accreditation exercise is crucial to maintaining the integrity of the examination process, stressing that approval in previous years does not automatically guarantee continued eligibility.

“The fact that you qualified last year does not mean you qualify this year,” the registrar said.

Describing the process as progressing well, Oloyede noted that only a few previously blacklisted centres had attempted to re-enter the system by changing identities or locations.

“Some centres that were implicated in examination malpractice last year have repackaged themselves this year, moving from one centre to another,” he said.

He further disclosed that JAMB had strengthened collaboration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to block owners of delisted CBT centres from resurfacing under new registrations.

“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 NIN, to prevent abuse,” Oloyede explained.

The registrar added that staff and proctors previously implicated in examination malpractice had also been permanently barred from participating in future JAMB examinations, with their National Identification Numbers flagged.

“All individuals involved have their NINs flagged. If they move elsewhere, they will destroy that centre because we will not approve it,” he said.

Oloyede also revealed that computers previously used in delisted centres had been permanently blocked from the JAMB system.

“Once a computer set is found belonging to a centre we have delisted, it can never return to our system, even if sold to another CBT centre,” he stated.

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He added that some breaches had already been detected and referred to security agencies for investigation, noting that such acts violate both JAMB regulations and Nigerian law.

Speaking on accreditation standards, the Chief Technical Adviser to the Kwara State accreditation team, Prof. Veronica Mejabi, said centres must meet strict hard and soft criteria.

She explained that the key technical requirement is the deployment of a specified network topology to enable swift troubleshooting during examinations. Centres are also required to provide alternative power sources such as generators and inverters.

Soft requirements, she said, include adequate waiting areas for candidates, functional 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 examination malpractice.

“If you cheat, you will be caught, and when you are caught, that is the end,” he cautioned.