The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has scrapped the special concessions and registration procedures previously granted to candidates with albinism for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), citing widespread abuse of the privilege.
The decision was taken at a meeting between JAMB management, led by its Registrar, Prof. Isaq Oloyede, and Commissioners for Education from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, held on Saturday in Ikeja, Lagos.
According to Oloyede, investigations revealed that some individuals exploited the concessions by falsely claiming to be albinos during registration, using advanced technologies to manipulate the system.
“Last year alone, over 7,000 candidates claimed to be albinos. We discovered that some people are using artificial intelligence to present themselves as albinos just to benefit from the concessions. As a result, we have stopped special registration procedures for albino candidates,” he said.
The JAMB registrar also cautioned faith-based tertiary institutions against presenting themselves as secular during admission only to later impose religious rules on students.
“Faith-based institutions should clearly declare what they are from the outset. Some pretend to be secular, but once students are admitted, problems begin over compulsory religious instruction. If you are faith-based, say so. The law allows that,” Oloyede stated.
Addressing examination malpractice, Oloyede disclosed that some undergraduates sit for UTME either to change courses or to assist other candidates to gain admission. He cited the 2025 UTME, where the highest-scoring candidate was later found to be a 300-level university student.
“Henceforth, any candidate already in school who sits for UTME must declare their status. Failure to do so will lead to disqualification and forfeiture of their current admission,” he warned.
On admission criteria, Oloyede explained that federal institutions allocate 45 per cent of admissions on merit, 20 per cent on catchment areas, 20 per cent to educationally disadvantaged states, while the remaining slots are based on other considerations.
He urged states to reserve at least 10 per cent of admissions strictly for merit to promote diversity.
The registrar also expressed concern over the growing number of underage candidates. He said 16 years remains the minimum admission age, noting that only 78 out of about 42,000 candidates who claimed to be underage last year met the criteria for admission after assessment.
He attributed the trend partly to parental pressure and confirmed that JAMB would continue its special assessment process for exceptional underage candidates.
As part of efforts to curb malpractice, Oloyede announced that computers registered at Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres would no longer be transferable between centres.
He dismissed claims that candidates were posted to examination towns they did not choose, stating that all registration data were drawn directly from candidates’ National Identification Numbers.
Providing an update on the 2025 UTME, Oloyede said 974,855 candidates had been admitted out of about 1.95 million applicants.
He added that over N2.4 billion had been paid to institutions that consistently complied with JAMB regulations over the past decade.
