The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has paid a total of N1,570,671,200 to Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres that handled the registration for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The development was disclosed in a bulletin issued by the Board and signed by its Public Communication Advisor, Fabian Benjamin.
According to JAMB, the amount represents the N700 registration service fee collected on behalf of accredited CBT centres during the UTME registration process.
The examination body explained that the N700 fee is collected together with the ePIN registration charge and subsequently remitted directly to the CBT centres on a weekly basis.
The Board stated that under the arrangement, a total of N1.57bn has already been transferred to the centres that participated in the 2026 UTME registration exercise.
JAMB noted that the payment system has helped to curb the exploitation of candidates by preventing centres from imposing unauthorised charges during the registration process.
The Board also said the arrangement has strengthened the cashless registration system across CBT centres, many of which are privately owned.
Under the current structure, candidates who purchase the UTME ePIN are not required to make any additional payment at the registration centres. Instead, they are free to complete their registration at any accredited CBT centre nationwide.
To further promote transparency and accountability, JAMB reiterated that it introduced the “No View, No Pay” policy, which ensures that payments are made to CBT centres only after verifying that the candidates registered by the centres are valid and visible in the Board’s registration database.
According to the Board, the policy was designed to prevent registration irregularities and ensure strict compliance with established procedures.
The Board also confirmed that registration for the 2026 UTME closed on February 28, while the examination is scheduled to take place across the country from April 16 to April 25, 2026.
Meanwhile, JAMB stated that Direct Entry registration, which commenced on March 2, will run until April 25, 2026.