The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has dismissed a circulating notice claiming that the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has been postponed, describing the statement as fake and malicious.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the examination body warned candidates and the general public to disregard the false press release, stating clearly that the 2026 UTME will hold as scheduled.
“Our attention has been drawn to the malicious press release stating that the 2026 UTME has been postponed. The general public, particularly the candidates, are by this notice informed that the press release is fake and did not emanate from us. Kindly disregard it. All activities on the 2026 UTME continue as scheduled,” the board said.
JAMB had earlier announced that the main 2026 UTME examination will take place from April 16 to April 25, 2026, across accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide.
The clarification comes after the 2026 UTME mock examination held on 28 March, during which several centres experienced technical challenges. According to JAMB, a total of 224,597 candidates registered for the mock examination, but only 152,586 were able to successfully sit for the test across 989 CBT centres nationwide.
The board said more than 20 CBT centres that experienced technical issues during the mock examination have now been delisted due to technical inadequacies, as part of efforts to prevent disruptions during the main examination.
JAMB also warned candidates to stay away from individuals or groups, particularly on WhatsApp, claiming they can help inflate UTME scores, describing such claims as false and criminal.
The board warned that any candidate found engaging in examination malpractice or score manipulation schemes risks having their registration cancelled or their results withheld.
JAMB advised candidates to rely only on official communication from the board and accredited channels for accurate information regarding the examination.
