Reps seek CBT centres in all LGAs as JAMB admits to UTME glitches

The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to establish at least one Computer-Based Testing (CBT) centre in each of the 774 local government areas of the country for the conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The resolution was passed at plenary on Thursday, following an admission by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) of technical hitches during the 2025 edition of the UTME.

The lawmakers said the proposed centres would help forestall a recurrence of similar glitches in future examinations.

They also appealed for calm from the public in the wake of JAMB’s rare admission of errors that affected candidates’ performance.

The call by the House comes weeks after the Senate made a similar move. The upper legislative chamber had proposed budgetary provisions in the 2026 fiscal year to ensure the establishment of CBT centres in all 774 local councils.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Mohammed Dandutse, who monitored this year’s UTME, said the absence of CBT centres in some areas was worrisome.

He said: “In making it easy for candidates seeking admission into universities or other tertiary institutions through UTME, the ICT centres must be made available in all the 774 local government councils across the country.

“I am from Katsina South Senatorial District, where only two out of the 11 local government councils have ICT centres for UTME.

“Since the examination is computer-based, centres for it need to be made available across the 774 local government councils in the country. In doing this, this committee of the Senate, in collaboration with our colleagues in the House of Representatives, shall facilitate budgetary provisions for it in the 2026 fiscal year.”

On Wednesday, JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, in a rare show of emotion while addressing a press conference in Abuja, admitted that technical errors had affected the scores of some candidates in the 2025 UTME.

According to him, no fewer than 379,997 candidates would have to retake the examination as a result of the glitches.

JAMB’s review showed that 157 of the 887 centres used for the 2025 examination were affected by technical disruptions, sparking widespread outrage over what some candidates and parents described as unusually low scores and inconsistencies in the questions and answers.

The Board has since pledged to make amends and ensure greater transparency in subsequent examinations.