Education Minister Hails JAMB 2025/2026 UTME for Upholding Global Standards and Exam Integrity

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) administered the 2025–2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which was praised by the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, for meeting international standards for integrity, oversight, and coordination.

“The way JAMB is conducting its annual exam meets all international benchmarks,” the Minister said, expressing his pleasure following a thorough monitoring exercise across many Computer-Based Test (CBT) centers and the JAMB Control Room. It is coordinated with the utmost honesty and is impenetrable to cheating. The fact that Nigeria can attain this degree of perfection greatly impresses me.

The Minister also underlined President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s strong commitment to the development of human capital, pointing to advancements in social protection, health care, education, and the application of the law nationwide.

The Honorable Minister declared that the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) will start using computer-based testing (CBT) for the objective portions of their exams in November 2025. According to him, this step will greatly reduce exam misconduct and encourage a culture of sincere study and merit among students. By May/June 2026, the objective and essay components of the WAEC and NECO exams will also be completely switched to CBT.

In a previous interview with the media, JAMB Registrar Professor Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede affirmed that this year’s UTME was among the most successful in the organization’s history. By highlighting that the Board’s first examination session starts at 8:00 a.m. and that candidates must arrive earlier for the required pre-screening procedures, which involve up to 250 candidates per center, he allayed public fears regarding candidates’ arrival timings.

Additionally, Professor Oloyede refuted claims that students were assigned to centers they did not select, and he challenged anyone to provide reliable proof. He disclosed that the effort has already resulted in the capture of more than 40 impersonators. The Board would not reschedule missed exams, Professor Oloyede added, likening it to missing an intercontinental flight: “Will you request that the plane return if you are traveling to the UK and you miss your flight?”

As of right now, more than 1.6 million of the 2,031,000 registered candidates have passed their tests. To uphold the high standards that have come to define JAMB’s operations, the Board thoroughly verifies all results before making them public.

Nigeria is establishing a new standard for exam administration and quality control with these significant educational reform initiatives.