By Chika Nwachukwu
Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has concluded accreditation, validation and security checks for centres, personnel and stakeholders involved in the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, amidst ongoing prosecution of 30 suspected registration and examination infractors.
The was disclosed by its Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede at an expanded management meeting held recently, according to the board’s weekly bulletin released on Monday.
JAMB assured the public that the forthcoming registration exercise would be robust, secure and largely infraction-proof.
The board also stated that adequate time had been taken to put comprehensive measures in place to prevent and address likely registration irregularities, leveraging lessons from the post-registration and examination review of the 2025 UTME.
With close to 20 of the 30 suspected infractors already in correctional custody, JAMB warned individuals or groups intending to perpetrate registration or examination infractions to stay away from the 2026 UTME registration process, scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2026, as anyone found culpable will face the full weight of the law.
Meanwhile, the board also disclosed that it is collaborating with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, to prevent fraud, ensure that directors of blacklisted centres are prevented from re-registering and implicated staff and proctors are identified via their National Identification Number, NIN.
Speaking on the issue, Oloyede emphasised that centre accreditation ensures quality, security and technical reliability, preventing malpractice and maintaining examination integrity.
“JAMB Centre Accreditation is crucial for UTME because it ensures quality, security and technical reliability of test venues, preventing malpractice, system failures and overcrowding, thereby maintaining examination integrity, building public trust and guaranteeing a fair process for all candidates by ensuring that centres meet strict standards for infrastructure, power, CCTV and network topology,” he said.
The board disclosed that 1,039 CBT centres were visited across the country, with substandard centres denied accreditation and declared unfit for the 2026 UTME.
It also noted that application documents for the 2026 UTME will be released early in line with JAMB’s commitment to transparency, efficiency and examination integrity.
