By Micah Jonah, March 10, 2026
Operators of Computer Based Test centres across the country have criticized the N700 registration service charge approved for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, describing the amount as inadequate in the face of rising operational costs.
The Computer Based Test Centres Proprietors Association of Nigeria raised the concern shortly after the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board announced the disbursement of N1.57bn to accredited CBT centres that participated in the 2026 UTME registration exercise.
The Association’s President, Austin Ohaekelem, said the N700 charge has remained unchanged for about a decade despite increasing costs of equipment, rent, staff salaries and fuel needed to operate CBT facilities.
According to him, the cost of registering a candidate when the programme started around 2016 was N700 and the same amount is still being paid today even though economic conditions have changed significantly.
He explained that running a CBT centre requires significant investment in computers, infrastructure and personnel, adding that the amount received per candidate barely covers the expenses required to maintain the facilities.
Ohaekelem also noted that CBT operators are not allowed to collect the fee directly from candidates as the money is first paid to JAMB then later refunded to the centres weekly.
He further lamented that the Association had previously written to the Minister of Education regarding the matter but had yet to receive any response.
JAMB had earlier disclosed that a total of N1,570,671,200 was remitted to CBT centres as the N700 service charge collected from candidates during the 2026 UTME registration.
The examination body maintained that its fee structure has remained unchanged since 2018 and warned CBT centres against collecting any unauthorized charges from candidates.
JAMB also defended its payment system, noting that the cashless registration process has improved transparency and reduced exploitation during the UTME registration exercise.
The board added that its monitoring policy known as “No View, No Pay” ensures that CBT centres are only paid when their registration activities can be monitored remotely from its headquarters.
Registration for the 2026 UTME ended on February 28 while the examination is scheduled to hold nationwide between April 16 and April 25.
