As candidates commence registration for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) today, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has scrapped the special concessions and registration privileges previously granted to persons with albinism, citing widespread abuse of the policy for examination malpractice.

The Board also issued a stern warning to faith-based tertiary institutions, directing them to clearly declare their religious identity from the outset rather than presenting themselves as secular bodies to attract applicants and later imposing religious doctrines and rules on admitted students.

These resolutions were reached at a high-level meeting held over the weekend in Ikeja, Lagos, between JAMB management—led by its Registrar, Professor Isaq Oloyede—and Commissioners for Education from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

Professor Oloyede explained that the meeting was convened to review the previous UTME exercise and assess emerging challenges. Despite multiple safeguards introduced by the Board, he noted that some individuals were still determined to compromise the integrity of the process.

“We have discontinued the concessions granted to albino candidates because some individuals exploited them using Artificial Intelligence to manipulate the registration process and falsely present themselves as albinos,” he said. “Last year alone, over 7,000 candidates claimed to be albinos. That figure is clearly abnormal. Consequently, special registration procedures for albino candidates have now been stopped.”

Addressing complaints from students admitted into some private universities over unexpected religious obligations, Oloyede urged faith-based institutions to be transparent about their nature.

“Faith-based institutions must declare what they are from the outset. The law permits the establishment of faith-based schools, but it is deceptive to pretend to be secular and only reveal religious rules after students have been admitted. Applicants deserve to know what they are signing up for,” he stated.

The Registrar also revisited last year’s revelation that the UTME’s highest scorer was already a 300-level university student. He disclosed that investigations showed that some undergraduates sit for the UTME either to switch courses or to impersonate candidates seeking admission.

“Any candidate already in a university who wants to change course and applies again must disclose that status. We discovered that some students are writing UTME on behalf of others. Last year’s top scorer turned out to be a 300-level undergraduate. Henceforth, anyone found guilty of such deception will be disqualified and will also forfeit their current admission,” he warned.

On admission benchmarks, Oloyede reiterated that federal institutions operate a formula of 45 per cent merit, 20 per cent catchment area, 20 per cent educationally disadvantaged states, and the remaining percentage for other considerations. He added that while states are free to set their own criteria, they are encouraged to reserve at least 10 per cent for merit to promote diversity and attract outstanding candidates nationwide.

He also criticised some state governments for establishing new universities despite failing to fill their admission quotas in existing federal institutions.

Turning to the issue of underage candidates, Oloyede disclosed that about 42,000 candidates claimed to be under the minimum admission age last year, but only 78 met the strict criteria and were eventually admitted.

“For now, the official admission age remains 16 years. Any candidate below that age must score at least 80 per cent in both the UTME and post-UTME screening to qualify. While we acknowledge the existence of gifted students, the scale of underage claims we saw last year was unrealistic,” he said.

The question of what underage candidates should do during the compulsory gap year generated debate at the meeting, with some participants suggesting that JAMB should create structured programmes for them. However, after a vote, the majority agreed that the Board should continue with its current special assessment process.

The meeting also blamed parental pressure for much of the underage admission crisis, noting that many parents push their children to complete their education too quickly.

On measures to curb malpractice at Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres, Oloyede announced that computers would no longer be transferable between centres.

“Any computer registered to a CBT centre must remain there permanently. Some centres borrow computers to gain accreditation and later move them elsewhere. That loophole has now been closed,” he said.

He further clarified that candidates are never posted to towns they did not select during registration and that personal details such as names and states of origin are automatically drawn from the National Identification Number (NIN) database.

“We do not misspell names or alter candidates’ data. Everything comes directly from the NIN,” he added.

Providing an update on the 2025 UTME, Oloyede revealed that 974,855 candidates had so far secured admission out of approximately 1.95 million who sat for the examination. He also disclosed that JAMB had disbursed over ₦2.4 billion to institutions that consistently complied with its regulations over the past decade.

The meeting further resolved that institutions producing the best-performing candidates should be rewarded.

On CBT centre accreditation, Oloyede said the process is handled by multi-stakeholder teams in each state, including university vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts.

He concluded by cautioning state governments against entering agreements with private CBT centre promoters who may seek to use such centres as platforms for examination fraud.