The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the cancellation of special concessions previously offered to candidates with albinism, citing widespread abuse of the provision.
The decision was announced in Lagos during a meeting between the JAMB management, led by Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, and Commissioners for Education from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Discussions centred on assessing the last examination cycle and preparations for the upcoming UTME and Direct Entry exercises.
Prof. Oloyede said the concession, designed to assist candidates with albinism, was exploited by some individuals using artificial intelligence tools and false claims to register as persons with albinism and gain an unfair advantage in the examination process.
He noted that over 7,000 candidates falsely claimed to be persons with albinism last year.
As a result, the board has stopped the special registration procedures previously available to them.
JAMB urged faith-based tertiary institutions to openly declare their religious identity from the start, warning that presenting as secular and later imposing religious rules on students amounts to deception.
Prof. Oloyede also highlighted issues of exam malpractice, warning that some candidates already enrolled in university programmes had been re-taking the UTME, sometimes on behalf of others, to secure new admissions.
He said candidates already in school must disclose their status or face disqualification and loss of admission.
Registration for the 2026 UTME began as scheduled, with candidates expected to complete their applications at approved CBT centres nationwide.
Candidates who will be at least 16 years old by September 30, 2026, are eligible to sit for the UTME, with an intensive evaluation process available for exceptional cases.
