JAMB reschedules 2026 UTME exam for candidates affected by technical issues, confirms new dates

Summary 

• JAMB says all candidates affected by technical glitches will be given new exam dates.

• A special mop-up exercise will be held after April 25, 2026, to accommodate all affected candidates.

• Candidates should reprint their slips for updates and ignore fraudsters claiming to “fix” UTME scores.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has officially moved to calm nerves following technical hitches that disrupted the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in several Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide.

The Board's Public Communication Advisor, Dr Fabian Benjamin, gave the assurance on Friday during a monitoring exercise conducted by the Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFund in Abuja. 

He emphasised that no registered candidate would be denied the opportunity to sit for the examination due to circumstances beyond their control.

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Addressing the concerns of frustrated parents and students, Dr Benjamin clarified that the Board had anticipated potential challenges given the massive scale of the exercise. 

With approximately 2.2 million candidates registered to sit for the exam across 966 accredited CBT centres, technical glitches, while regrettable, are often an operational reality.

“If your centre fails today, you will be rescheduled again to take the exam,” Benjamin stated. “For any reason, even when you are rescheduled, and you are unable to sit the examination, you will be rescheduled again.”

He further explained that JAMB has integrated a "mop-up" phase into its examination cycle, specifically designed to cater to candidates whose sessions were aborted by server failures, power outages, or other unforeseen disruptions.

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The 2026 UTME cycle has already seen strict enforcement of standards.

Before the main exam, JAMB delisted over 20 CBT centres that showed significant technical inadequacies during the mock examinations held in March.

During the monitoring tour, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Mohammed Dandutse, acknowledged the distress caused to students who travelled long distances only to meet shut-down systems. 

He assured the public that the National Assembly would work closely with JAMB to ensure CBT centres are more functional and efficient in the future, noting that there is "no moral justification" for leaving students stranded.

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Affected candidates do not need to panic or re-register. The Board’s system automatically flags sessions that were not completed due to technical errors.

They are, however, advised to regularly check the official JAMB portal to reprint their examination slips, which will contain the new date, time, and potentially a new venue.

A dedicated mop-up exercise will be conducted after the main examination window (scheduled for April 16 to April 25, 2026) to ensure every candidate is accounted for.

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The Board reiterated that its results are secure and any attempt to manipulate the system will lead to the immediate cancellation of results and potential prosecution.

Candidates are urged to rely solely on official JAMB communication channels and the Board's website for updates regarding their new examination schedules.

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