UTME Glitches: JAMB assures candidates of rescheduling exams for affected candidates
By Uji A Iliyasu, Abuja
As the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) entered its second day, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has assured candidates affected by technical disruptions that they will be rescheduled to sit the examination.
JAMB’s Public Communication Advisor, Dr Fabian Benjamin, gave the assurance on Friday in Abuja during an oversight visit by the Senate Committee on Tertiary Education to monitor the ongoing exam.
Benjamin was responding to concerns raised by parents and candidates whose examinations were disrupted at a CBT centre in Utako. He acknowledged the challenges but described them as expected in a nationwide exercise involving hundreds of centres.
According to him, affected candidates would be reassigned to new dates and centres, adding that JAMB’s mop-up exercise would ensure no candidate is left out.
“We are assuring all Nigerians that every candidate who registered will be given the opportunity to sit the exam. If your centre fails, you will be rescheduled,” he said.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Mohammed Dandutse, admitted that while progress had been recorded, technical issues persisted across centres nationwide.
He pledged that the committee would investigate the challenges and work with JAMB to improve operations, stressing that candidates should not be subjected to undue hardship.
“There is no justification for a candidate to travel long distances and still be unable to sit the exam,” Dandutse said.
Meanwhile, some parents and candidates expressed frustration over repeated disruptions and the financial burden of rescheduling exams.
A parent, Mr. David Afolanyo, criticised authorities for what he described as a recurring problem, questioning why proactive measures were not taken earlier.
Similarly, a candidate, Eunice Peter, who travelled from Kaduna, lamented the cost of transport and accommodation after missing her exam twice due to technical issues.
Despite the concerns, JAMB maintained that only a small number of centres experienced failures out of the nearly 1,000 centres deployed nationwide, promising continued efforts to minimise disruptions as the exercise progresses.