The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has fixed Saturday, June 13, 2026, for the conduct of the mop-up Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination for candidates affected by technical glitches, biometric verification failures and withdrawn results during the 2026 UTME exercise.
The examination body announced the date in a statement issued on Monday by its Public Communications Adviser, Fabian Benjamin, describing the exercise as the final phase of the 2026 admission examination cycle.
According to JAMB, only candidates who were duly registered and biometrically verified but could not complete the main examination due to disruptions would participate in the mop-up exercise.
The board explained that the affected candidates include those whose examination centres experienced technical breakdowns, candidates who faced biometric verification issues despite presenting themselves at their centres, and some whose results were withdrawn over alleged examination infractions.
“The 2026 UTME was conducted between 23rd and 29th April, 2026. However, some centres experienced technical challenges which made it impossible for a number of candidates to sit the examination,” the statement said.
“The Board further noted that some results were subsequently withdrawn over examination infractions, while some candidates who presented themselves for the examination could not be verified biometrically.”
JAMB stated that all eligible candidates had already been captured for the mop-up examination and urged them to begin printing their Examination Notification Slips from Saturday, June 6, 2026.
Candidates were advised to familiarise themselves with their assigned centres ahead of the examination and make adequate travel and logistical arrangements.
“Affected candidates are hereby urged to print their Examination Notification Slips, familiarise themselves with their examination centres, and make all necessary arrangements ahead of the examination date,” the board added.
The examination body stressed that the mop-up exercise would serve as the final opportunity for affected candidates to complete the 2026 UTME process.
“There will be no further opportunity for any candidate to sit the 2026 JAMB after this mop-up exercise,” the statement warned.
The development comes after complaints trailed parts of the 2026 JAMB exercise following reports of technical failures and biometric verification difficulties at some Computer-Based Test centres across the country.
JAMB had earlier announced that the main JAMB exercise was conducted between April 16 and April 25, with results gradually released beginning from April 18.
The board also recently concluded its annual policy meeting where admission benchmarks for tertiary institutions were approved ahead of the 2026 admission process.
At the meeting held on May 11, minimum admissible scores were pegged at 150 for universities and colleges of nursing sciences, while polytechnics and colleges of education retained 100 as benchmark scores. Institutions, however, were granted the flexibility to adopt higher cut-off marks for competitive courses and programmes.
Education stakeholders say the mop-up examination is crucial for thousands of candidates whose admission hopes were threatened by technical disruptions during the main examination exercise.
The UTME remains a major requirement for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions, with candidates also expected to meet post-UTME and O’Level requirements set by their chosen schools.
With the mop-up exercise expected to conclude the 2026 UTME cycle, tertiary institutions are likely to begin screening and admission processes shortly after the release of final results.
