The Joint Admissions and Accountability Board (JAMB) has officially announced plans to conduct make-up examinations for candidates who faced technical disruptions during the recently concluded 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). This decision aims to ensure that no student is unfairly penalized for system failures at accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres.
The rescheduled sessions are tentatively slated for the second week of May 2026. This announcement follows a wave of complaints from frustrated candidates and parents who reported that localised server crashes and hardware malfunctions prevented several students from completing their papers during the primary ten-day window which ended on April 25.
Dr. Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s Public Communication Advisor, confirmed the Board’s stance on the matter, noting that a comprehensive review of centre logs is currently underway to identify every affected individual. He assured the public that the Board is committed to a process that is rooted in equity and transparency.
"The Board is aware of the distress caused by these isolated technical challenges and is working to ensure that all affected candidates are given another opportunity to sit for the examination under fair and stable conditions," Dr. Benjamin stated. He further emphasised that the exact dates for the make-up exercise would be communicated to the specific candidates through their registered profiles and phone numbers.
While the make-up exams are being organised, the Board is also looking ahead to the 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions scheduled for May 11 at the Body of Benchers Auditorium in Abuja. This high-level meeting will be presided over by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, and will serve as the platform where minimum cut-off marks for universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education are determined.
Technical teams from the Board are reportedly auditing the infrastructure at the problematic CBT centres to prevent a recurrence during the make-up dates. These improvements focus on server stability and real-time technical monitoring. As the academic cycle progresses, the results of these make-up exams will be integrated into the broader admission pool ahead of the post-UTME screening window, which is expected to commence in July.
The 2026 UTME cycle remains a pivotal moment for Nigerian tertiary education, with stakeholders from the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) expected to participate in the upcoming policy deliberations to finalise the 2026/2027 admission guidelines.