Students planning to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) may have to prepare for a higher registration fee, as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says the current N3,500 charge may no longer be sustainable due to rising operational costs.
The disclosure was made by JAMB’s Public Communication Adviser, Dr Fabian Benjamin, during an online dialogue organised by the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria.
According to Benjamin, no final decision has been taken, but the board is reviewing whether it can continue charging N3,500 in the face of increasing expenses.
“As I speak with you, there is a debate on whether that is still practicable because of the rising cost of things. I will not be surprised if the fee is likely to go up again,” he said.
Benjamin explained that the UTME registration fee was reduced from N5,000 to N3,500 in 2018 after JAMB introduced reforms that significantly cut the cost of conducting the examination.
However, he said the rising cost of operations, including payments to accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres, has made it difficult to maintain the current fee.
“Part of the money we collect belongs to the CBT centres because they render services for us. Many of them are already complaining that what we pay is too meagre because diesel and other operational costs have increased,” he said.
Benjamin also dismissed claims that JAMB has become a revenue-generating agency.
He explained that the board has remitted over N50 billion as operating surplus to the Federal Government over the past 10 years because government regulations require public agencies to return excess funds after meeting their operational expenses.
“There is an impression that JAMB has become a revenue-generating agency. It is not,” he said.
According to him, the savings were made possible through reforms introduced under JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, particularly the replacement of the expensive Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) technology with telecom-based SIM card connectivity for examinations.
Benjamin said the move reduced examination connectivity costs from about N1.2 billion in 2016 to less than N100 million.
He acknowledged that the transition experienced technical hitches during the first mock examination in 2017 but noted that the reforms have strengthened the credibility of JAMB’s examinations.
He added that innovations such as mock examinations, computer-based testing and biometric verification have significantly reduced impersonation and other forms of examination malpractice.
Earlier this year, a director in the office of the JAMB Registrar, Muftau Bello, told the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund that the board projected N23.8 billion in internally generated revenue for 2026 and plans to remit N6 billion to the Federation Account as operating surplus.
Benjamin maintained that any future review of the UTME registration fee would be driven by prevailing economic realities rather than an attempt to generate more revenue.
For many young Nigerians already struggling with the rising cost of education, any increase in the UTME fee could place additional pressure on families. While no official increase has been announced, prospective candidates will be paying close attention to JAMB’s next move.
Prof. Ishaq Oloyede’s tenure as JAMB Registrar ends on July 31, 2026, while Prof. Segun Aina is expected to assume office on August 1, 2026.
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