By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Monday, January 5, said it had no plan of increasing the cost of application documents for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE).
This is even as the board urged candidates intending to register for the 2026 UTME and DE to verify that their National Identification Number (NIN) details are correct before creating their registration profiles.
JAMB, in its Weekly Bulletin seen on Monday, January 5, assured “parents, guardians, and prospective candidates” that it has not raised fees for either UTME or DE “in the last nine years.”
It added that registration costs have been, in fact, “reduced for prospective candidates within the nine years of the existence of the current administration.”
The board stressed that any increase in the future would only occur if absolutely necessary to sustain the integrity and quality of the examination process.
It further noted that this policy aligns with the directive of President Bola Tinubu, conveyed through the Minister of Education, that its activities must reflect the administration’s human-face policies and take cognisance of the economic realities facing Nigerian families.
“This clarification is provided to properly guide members of the public who wish to plan ahead for the education of their children, as the cost implication for the 2026 exercise remains largely the same as that of the previous year,” the Board stated.
JAMB urged parents and guardians to make early arrangements and ensure the timely registration of their wards, noting that the registration period will not be extended once it begins.
Ahead of the commencement of registration for the 2026 UTME, which will be on sale from Friday, January 31 until Saturday, March 8, 2026, JAMB warned candidates to verify the accuracy of their NIN details before creating their registration profiles.
The board stressed that incorrect NIN information could lead to avoidable complications during registration and examination.
JAMB encouraged candidates to take advantage of the period before the commencement of registration to ensure their personal information is correct and consistent across all relevant databases.
The board also warned that opportunities to correct personal data are limited, due to issues often associated with correction windows.
It said, “Candidates are therefore advised to take personal responsibility for the accuracy of their details from the start, as not all requests for corrections may be accommodated.”
