JAMB accreditation of CBT centres begins nationwide as the board plans to approve 1,039 centres for the 2026 UTME
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has announced plans to accredit 1,039 Computer-Based Test centres nationwide for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
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The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Professor Is’haq Oloyede, disclosed this on Wednesday in Ilorin, Kwara State.
Professor Is’haq Oloyede spoke during an ongoing accreditation tour of CBT centres.
He said the board had deployed 52 examination teams across the country.
The teams will re-accredit eligible centres and disqualify those that fail to meet required standards.
Professor Oloyede said annual accreditation remained compulsory, regardless of previous approval.
He stressed that past qualification does not guarantee continued eligibility.
“The fact that you qualified last year does not mean you qualify this year,” the registrar said.
He described the exercise as encouraging, noting limited attempts by previously sanctioned centres to return.
Professor Oloyede said some centres implicated in malpractice last year had attempted to rebrand and relocate.
He added that JAMB had strengthened collaboration with the Corporate Affairs Commission to block such efforts.
According to him, directors of blacklisted CBT centres are now permanently barred nationwide.
Professor Oloyede said JAMB now accesses directors’ National Identification Numbers to enforce compliance.
He also disclosed that staff and proctors involved in malpractice have been banned from future examinations.
“All individuals involved have their NINs flagged,” he said.
He added that computers used by delisted centres have also been permanently barred from the JAMB system.
According to him, such computers cannot be reused, even if sold to other centres.
Professor Oloyede said a few breaches had already been detected during the exercise.
He said security agencies had been invited to investigate the violations.
The registrar described such actions as serious offences under Nigerian law.
Speaking on accreditation requirements, the Chief Technical Adviser to the Kwara State accreditation team, Professor Veronica Mejabi, said centres must meet both technical and operational standards.
She said the key requirement includes a prescribed network topology for efficient troubleshooting.
Professor Mejabi added that centres must provide backup power through inverters and generators.
She said soft requirements include waiting areas, toilet facilities and functional CCTV surveillance.
Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Wahab Egbewole (SAN), warned candidates against examination malpractice.
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He said offenders would face severe and final consequences.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
