The 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has officially commenced today across Nigeria, with more than 2.2 million candidates taking part in the nationwide assessment exercise.
The examination, conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), began on Thursday April 16, at accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide, as candidates sat for their scheduled sessions under strict supervision and updated examination guidelines.
JAMB disclosed that 2,243,816 candidates enrolled for this year’s examination, marking a 10.5 per cent rise compared to the 2.03 million candidates recorded in 2025.
To strengthen the credibility of the process, the board has introduced biometric authentication and live monitoring technology throughout the examination period.
According to JAMB, any candidate whose biometric data fails verification will be rescheduled for another date at designated centres.
Candidates were also instructed to print their examination notification slips from the official JAMB portal to confirm their exam dates, venue, and time, and to report at their centres at least one hour before their allotted session.
State-by-state registration data released by the board showed that Lagos State recorded the highest number of applicants with 381,814 candidates.
It was followed by Ogun with 137,156, Oyo with 122,662, Kaduna with 103,498, and the Federal Capital Territory with 102,961.
