The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has withdrawn special registration concessions previously granted to candidates with albinism for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, citing widespread abuse and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.
According to Oloyede, investigations revealed that some individuals exploited the concessions by falsely claiming to be albinos, using advanced technology to manipulate the registration process.
“We have stopped some of the concessions we gave to albino candidates because people are now using artificial intelligence to falsely present themselves as albinos,” Oloyede said. “Last year alone, more than 7,000 candidates claimed to be albinos, which raised serious concerns.”
He added that special registration procedures for albino candidates had therefore been discontinued ahead of the 2026 UTME.
The JAMB registrar also warned faith-based tertiary institutions to be transparent about their religious identity during the admission process, saying it was misleading for schools to present themselves as secular only to impose religious rules on students after admission.
“Faith-based institutions must clearly state who they are from the beginning,” Oloyede said.
“Some schools pretend to be secular, but once students are admitted, issues begin over compulsory religious activities. That is deceptive, and it should stop.”
On examination malpractice, Oloyede disclosed that JAMB uncovered cases where undergraduates sat for UTME either to assist other candidates or to change their courses without proper disclosure.
“Last year, the highest-scoring UTME candidate was later discovered to be a 300-level university student,” he said.
“Any candidate already in school who fails to declare their status and is found sitting for UTME will be disqualified and will also lose their current admission.”
He further explained that the board had tightened measures at Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres, including banning the movement of computers between centres to prevent manipulation.
“A computer accredited to a CBT centre must remain there. Some centres were borrowing computers to gain approval and later moving them elsewhere. That practice has been stopped,” he said.
Addressing concerns about underage candidates, Oloyede maintained that 16 years remains the minimum admission age, noting that only exceptional candidates who pass JAMB’s assessment process would be considered.
“Last year, about 42,000 candidates claimed to be underage. After screening, only 78 met the criteria,” he said, describing the high number of claims as unrealistic.
On admission quotas, Oloyede reiterated 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 reserved for other considerations.
He also criticised some state governments for establishing new universities while failing to fully utilise available admission slots in existing federal institutions.
Providing an update on the 2025 UTME, the JAMB registrar said 974,855 candidates had so far secured admission out of the approximately 1.95 million who sat for the examination.
He added that more than ₦2.4 billion had been paid to institutions that consistently complied with JAMB’s regulations over the past decade, noting that schools producing quality candidates deserved incentives.
