- The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board presents a N30.6bn total budget profile to the Senate.
- JAMB plans to remit N6bn to the Federation Account as operating surplus for the 2026 fiscal year.
- Examination centres will increase from fewer than 800 to 1,000 to improve candidate access nationwide.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced an ambitious financial and operational roadmap for the 2026 academic year.
Eko Hot Blog reports that appearing before the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund on Wednesday, the board revealed a target of N23.8bn in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
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This projection represents a significant N4bn increase over the N18.5bn generated during the 2025 fiscal year.
The presentation, led by Dr. Muftau Bello on behalf of Registrar Professor Ishaq Oloyede, underscored the agency’s continued focus on fiscal discipline and expanded service delivery.
Out of the total proposed budget profile of N30.6bn, JAMB committed to remitting N6bn into the Federation Account as its operating surplus.
This is an increase from the N4bn remitted in 2025. The board’s ability to consistently return multi-billion naira surpluses to the federal government has remained a hallmark of Oloyede’s tenure, drawing praise from lawmakers.
During the session, the Senate Committee, chaired by Senator Muntari Dandutse, expressed satisfaction with the board’s financial transparency and performance, awarding the examination body a pass mark for its 2025 budget execution.
On the operational front, JAMB is set to significantly scale up its infrastructure to accommodate the growing number of applicants.
For the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), the board has expanded its network of examination centres to 1,000 across the country.
This is a substantial jump from the fewer than 800 centres utilized in the previous year.
According to the board, this expansion is strategically aimed at easing logistics for candidates and ensuring that no student has to travel excessive distances to participate in the computer-based test.
The session also touched upon the affordability of the examination for Nigerian students. Senator Yohanna Amos of Adamawa North urged the board to consider a further reduction in the UTME registration fee, which currently stands at N3,500.
In response, the JAMB representative reminded the committee that the fee had already been slashed from N5,000 to the current rate under Professor Oloyede’s leadership to reduce the financial burden on parents and guardians.
The board maintained that the current price point balances affordability with the high cost of maintaining secure, technology-driven examination environments.
As JAMB prepares for the 2026 cycle, the board’s emphasis on increasing both revenue and accessibility highlights a shift toward a more self-sustaining and candidate-friendly model.
With 1,000 centres now in the pipeline, the 2026 UTME is expected to be the most accessible in the agency’s history.
The Senate Committee encouraged the board to maintain its high standards of integrity, particularly in the face of evolving technological threats to examination security.
