Over 2 Million Candidates to Sit as JAMB Begins UTME Nationwide

Funmi Ogundare

As the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) commences its 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) today, April 24, across 887 centres nationwide, the board yesterday disclosed that over two million candidates are expected to participate in the examination expected to end on April 30.

Dr. Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, explained that more than 10,000 officials have been deployed to oversee the exercise.

He made this known during a virtual media dialogue themed,’ 2025 UTME: Lessons from Mock Test and the Future of Test-driven Examinations in Nigeria’, organised by the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria (EWAN) to sensitise candidates and stakeholders.

Dr. Benjamin clarified that candidates were assigned exam centres based on their selected exam towns during registration.

Only when all centres in a chosen town are filled will a candidate be moved to the nearest available location.

He emphasised the importance of writing the exam in the assigned town, noting that exam numbers, question papers, and other details are tied to specific locations. Any deviation could disadvantage the candidate.

Furthermore, JAMB has made special provisions for candidates with disabilities, including free registration, transportation, meals, and accommodation where necessary, to ensure an inclusive examination process.

Benjamin recalled that the introduction of the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) in 2017 has significantly redefined university admissions in Nigeria, reducing human error, eliminating bias, and enhancing transparency.

 He described the former manual process as “cumbersome and full of errors.”

Prior to CAPS, institutions were required to gather physically for admission conferences, where thousands of candidate applications were vetted manually – an approach that was not only inefficient but vulnerable to manipulation.

“CAPS automated the entire admission process,” Benjamin said. “It empowers institutions to manage their admissions online, while JAMB simply monitors from a distance, ensuring integrity and transparency.”

A key feature of CAPS, the head of public affairs and protocol noted, is its ability to notify candidates in real-time about their admission status. “If a candidate is not admitted, they receive a reason, and they have the right to raise a query,” he added, highlighting the system’s emphasis on accountability.

Addressing common misconceptions, Benjamin explained why high-scoring candidates may still be denied admission. He emphasized that JAMB is a selection examination, not a pass/fail one.

“Someone with 320 applying for Medicine may be rejected because hundreds of others scored even higher, while another with 200 applying for a less competitive course like agriculture may gain admission. It’s all about the competition within that course and institution.”

He also debunked the myth of uniform university standards. “Just like in the U.S., where Harvard’s admission standards differ from other institutions, Nigerian universities are ranked differently.

“University of Ibadan is not on the same level of competitiveness as some other universities.”

Benjamin further stressed the importance of diversity and the federal character policy, which he said is practiced worldwide under different names.

“Top universities abroad intentionally seek candidates from various backgrounds to maintain cultural and intellectual diversity. That’s what we aim to replicate in Nigeria.”

He mentioned recent efforts to internationalise Nigerian institutions, such as JAMB’s National Tertiary Admissions Performance Merit Award (NATAP-M) for universities that admit the highest number of foreign students, and collaborations with organisations like the Rochas Foundation to bring international students into Nigerian schools.

“University education should not be regional or tribal,” Benjamin stated. “We want Nigerian universities to be global hubs of learning, fostering innovation, inclusion, and academic excellence.”

Mojeed Alabi, Chairman of the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria (EWAN), emphasised the significance of the dialogue, noting that the UTME plays a vital role as the gateway to higher education for millions of Nigerian students.

He reaffirmed the association’s commitment to consistently highlighting pressing educational issues, with the aim of contributing to the growth of the education sector and the overall development of the nation’s economy.