The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has dismissed a circulating press release claiming that the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, has been postponed.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Board said the notice is Fake and warned candidates to ignore it.
JAMB said: “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.”
2026 UTME dates remain unchanged
JAMB had earlier announced that the main 2026 UTME will hold from Thursday, 16 April, to Saturday, 25 April 2026.
That means the examination timetable remains unchanged; candidates are expected to keep to the existing schedule released by the Board.
Why JAMB issued the clarification
The clarification came after the 2026 UTME Mock examination held on Saturday, 28 March. The mock exercise recorded technical problems at several Computer-Based Test, CBT, centres.
A total of 224,597 candidates registered for the mock examination. Out of that figure, 152,586 candidates successfully sat for the test across 989 CBT centres nationwide.
JAMB also said over 20 CBT centres linked to the technical problems have been delisted due to technical inadequacies.
Warning over score inflation claims
The Board also warned candidates against fraudulent persons or groups on WhatsApp claiming they can inflate scores.
JAMB described such claims as false and criminal. It added that any candidate found taking part in such acts risks cancellation of registration or withholding of results.
What candidates should note
JAMB’s message is clear. The 2026 UTME has not been postponed, the viral notice did not come from the Board, and all exam activities continue as scheduled.
Candidates are expected to ignore false messages and avoid any group or person promising score manipulation.