2026 UTME: JAMB withdraws special privileges for albino candidates

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has abolished special concessions and registration procedures previously granted to candidates with albinism for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), citing widespread abuse and examination malpractice.

JAMB Registrar, Prof. Isaq Oloyede, announced the decision on Saturday during a meeting with Commissioners for Education from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in Ikeja, Lagos. The meeting was convened to review past admission exercises.

Oloyede said some candidates had exploited the concessions by using artificial intelligence and other means to falsely present themselves as albino during registration. He disclosed that more than 7,000 candidates claimed to have albinism in the last examination cycle alone, prompting the Board to discontinue the special registration process.

“We have stopped some concessions we gave albino candidates because people are manipulating the system to take advantage of the consideration we provided,” he said.

The registrar also warned faith-based tertiary institutions to be transparent about their religious identity at the point of admission. He said it was misleading for such schools to present themselves as secular only to later impose religious rules on students.

“If you are a faith-based institution, say so from the beginning. The law allows you to set up faith-based schools, but applicants must know what they are signing up for,” Oloyede said.

Addressing examination malpractice, Oloyede revealed that investigations showed some undergraduates were sitting for UTME either to change courses or to write the examination on behalf of others. He recalled that the highest-scoring candidate in the previous UTME was later discovered to be a 300-level university student.

He warned that any candidate already in school who fails to disclose their status during registration would be disqualified and risk losing their current admission.

On admission criteria, the JAMB boss explained that federal institutions allocate 45 per cent of admissions on merit, 20 per cent to catchment areas, 20 per cent to educationally disadvantaged states, while the remaining slots are filled through other considerations. He urged state-owned institutions to reserve at least 10 per cent of their admissions strictly on merit to promote diversity.

Oloyede also criticised some state governments for establishing new universities while failing to fully utilise their admission quotas in existing institutions.

On age requirements, he reaffirmed that 16 years remains the minimum admission age, noting that an attestation process exists for exceptional candidates. He disclosed that although about 42,000 candidates claimed to be underage last year, only 78 were eventually admitted after screening.

The meeting also reviewed measures to curb malpractice, including stopping the movement of computers between Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres. According to Oloyede, computers accredited to a particular centre must now remain there permanently.

He dismissed claims that candidates were posted to examination towns they did not select, explaining that personal data for postings were drawn directly from candidates’ National Identification Numbers.

Providing an update on the 2025 UTME, Oloyede said about 974,855 candidates had so far been admitted out of the 1.95 million who sat for the examination. He added that over N2.4 billion had been paid in incentives over the past decade to institutions that consistently complied with JAMB regulations.

On the accreditation of CBT centres, Oloyede said the process involves teams of vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts in each state, while warning state governments against partnerships with private operators that could encourage examination malpractice.