The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has paid more than N50bn to the Federal Government as operating surplus over the past decade, its Public Communication Adviser, Dr Fabian Benjamin, revealed during a dialogue organised by the Education Writers Association of Nigeria via Zoom.

The session, themed "2026 Admission Policy Review and JAMB Scorecard: A Conversation with the Registrar," reviewed admissions and tertiary education matters while assessing Prof Ishaq Oloyede's 10 year leadership of the Board.

Benjamin clarified that the remittances followed government regulation requiring agencies to pay a percentage of their excess surplus, noting this should not be taken as proof that JAMB exists to generate revenue.

"JAMB is not a revenue generating agency. But there is a regulation that every agency, whether revenue generating or not, must remit a certain percentage of its excess surplus," he stated. "I cannot state the exact amount generated, but I can say that over N50bn has been remitted back to the Federal Government as excess surplus."

He attributed the savings to technological reforms and cost cutting measures introduced under Oloyede. In 2016, the Board replaced its Very Small Aperture Terminal system with telecom based SIM card connectivity, cutting Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination connectivity costs from about N1.2bn to less than N100m.

"He invited the service providers to reduce the cost, but they declined. The Board then adopted the use of telecom providers and SIM cards, which we still use today," Benjamin explained.

He further disclosed that the current UTME registration fee of N3,500, reduced from N5,000 in 2018, may soon require a review given rising operational costs, particularly for privately owned Computer Based Test centres that share in the fee.

"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 disclosed.

Benjamin maintained that JAMB charges among the lowest examination fees globally and insisted any future adjustment would reflect economic realities rather than a deliberate revenue push.

Oloyede's tenure ends on July 31, 2026, with Prof Segun Aina set to resume office on August 1, 2026.