UTME: “No part of Nigeria without network,” JAMB insists on live CBT surveillance

Nigeria’s Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which oversees university entrance examinations, has dismissed concerns that weak Internet connectivity could undermine its plan to introduce live CCTV monitoring across all accredited computer-based test (CBT) centres, insisting that all approved centres operate in areas with network coverage.

The policy, released on Monday, January 26, 2026, as part of the board’s weekly bulletin, requires all accredited CBT centres to install CCTV systems with live feeds visible at the board’s headquarters in Abuja. 

Centres that fail to maintain real-time monitoring will be barred from registering candidates or conducting the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). 

The move is part of JAMB’s ongoing efforts to tighten oversight and curb examination malpractice, even in parts of the country with weak connectivity.

“There is no part of the country where there is no network,” JAMB spokesperson Fabian Benjamin told TechCabal. “Everywhere we have a centre, there is a network [sic]. If there is no network, there is no centre.”

JAMB’s comments come amid widespread concerns about Nigeria’s patchy internet infrastructure, where broadband penetration stood at 50% as of 2025, and network quality varies sharply between urban and rural areas. 

With frequent outages, inconsistent speeds, and entire communities still dependent on weak mobile signals, critics say JAMB’s live CCTV requirement risks excluding centres in poorly connected regions, even as the board insists such connectivity gaps do not exist where examinations are approved to hold.

The directive requires all CBT centres to upgrade or replace their existing surveillance equipment with HIKVision CCTV hardware and software, creating a standardised system that allows live monitoring from JAMB’s headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

Benjamin said centres would be monitored directly from the headquarters, and any facility that fails to maintain a visible live feed would automatically be deemed non-compliant.

“We are monitoring, and once we cannot see you, you are not live. You are cut off,” Benjamin said.

Benjamin also warned about collusion between candidates and CBT centres. JAMB’s investigation into the 2025 UTME revealed instances in which some candidates, in collusion with certain CBT centres, attempted to manipulate registration data, including efforts to register using combined or substituted fingerprints.

Benjamin said the practices remain illegal and would attract sanctions. “Once you are caught, the session will be cancelled, and you will be prosecuted,” he added.

Official figures from JAMB show that 924 CBT centres have been provisionally screened ahead of the 2026 UTME, with final accreditation still pending before they can host registration and examinations.

JAMB is building on last year’s turnout, when more than two million candidates registered for the 2025 UTME, as it prepares for another large cohort in 2026.