Candidates at multiple centres across Nigeria encountered technical disruptions on the opening day of the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination on Thursday, April 16, as malfunctioning equipment and delayed question uploads drew sharp exchanges between CBT centre operators and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.

The examination is being conducted across 966 CBT centres nationwide, with 2.2 million candidates registered to sit the exercise before it closes on Wednesday, April 22.

At Skillpath International Academy in Karu, Abuja, where 4,000 candidates are registered, faulty desktops, mice, and keyboards greeted candidates who had been seated from 8 a.m. The first session, scheduled for 8:30 a.m., did not commence until approximately 8:45 a.m. after examination questions failed to appear on candidate screens at the appointed time.

A CBT technician at the centre, identified as Nonso, attributed the delay to JAMB's question upload process and warned that such setbacks hurt candidate performance.

"They delayed for about an hour because of the uploading of questions. This can make candidates forget what they read," he said. "The candidates are supposed to just walk in, log onto their system and write their exams. The delay contributes to poor performance."

JAMB General Monitor Group Representative Nnenna Akajemeli dismissed that position, placing responsibility squarely on the centre's management for failing to ensure all systems were functional ahead of the examination.

"Some systems have glitches while others are working. As a result of the escalation, they've been asked to reschedule the whole process. So, they will redo it for this batch because it will now jeopardise the success of their exam," she explained.

Akajemeli further questioned how the centre secured JAMB accreditation without a backup system, directing her remarks at centre owner Alphonsus Ekpenyong. Ekpenyong rejected the claims, insisting his facility had functioned without incident in previous years.

JAMB warned that centres failing to meet its operational standards risk sanctions. In the 2025 UTME, glitches affected 157 of 887 CBT centres, forcing a resit for 379,997 candidates.