Educationists and parents have expressed concern over the 6:30 a.m. timing fixed by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for candidates to arrive at their various designated Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres for the 2026 Mock Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination on Saturday, March 28, 2026.
JAMB had, in its weekly bulletin on Monday, announced the extension of the duration for this year’s Mock UTME from the traditional two hours to four hours, to give candidates more time to familiarise themselves with the CBT environment ahead of the main examination.
According to JAMB, in order to accommodate the change, the mock exam will be conducted in two consecutive sessions, with the first session holding “from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., followed by the second session from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.”
However, candidates are expected to be at the CBT centres by 6:30 a.m. for biometric registration before the exam starts. Hence, candidates may have to hit the road as early as 4:00 a.m. or 5:00 a.m., depending on the distance from their homes to the CBT centres, which may be risky for candidates residing in Nigeria’s hotspots of insecurity.
In the same vein, although JAMB stated that the Mock UTME, designed to test CBT readiness, is “an optional preparatory exercise”, the examination body warned candidates who applied that, “Absence from the Mock UTME after indicating interest will attract appropriate consequences.”
In view of the safety concerns arising from the early timing by JAMB, especially considering the rising insecurity in the country and other concerns, parents and secondary school administrators shared their fears with Peoples Gazette regarding the decision by the exam body.
If not for insecurity, 6:30 a.m. wouldn’t have been an issue: Lumen Christi School
The principal of Lumen Christi International High School, Arue-Uromi, Edo State, Otaigbe J., stated that 6:30 a.m. would not have been a problem if the country was not bedevilled by killings, bombings, and kidnappings by terrorists, as well as bad roads and vehicular traffic.
Mr Otaigbe said, “Due to the bad roads in Nigeria, the possibility to move from home swiftly, even after you’ve prepared early enough, can’t be guaranteed, it’s natural you’ll get there late. Generally, the nature of our attitude as Africans, in terms of African time, poses lots of challenges. If the students can move on time, and JAMB can learn to also begin (exams) at the specified time, I think 7:00 a.m. will be okay, not 06:30 a.m.
“With the uncertainties everywhere, nobody wants to move out of their houses that early, only to meet danger because they want to write exam. If all things were equal, 6:30 a.m. wouldn’t really have been a time to be afraid of.”
Regarding the possibility of students being unable to attend the exam due to insecurity in the areas where they reside, Mr Otaigbe said, “If the system was working, if there was structure, these kinds of things will not happen. If such a thing happens, the examination body may not even consider that the child got into an unfortunate situation, and no consideration may be given for a rewrite. If the system was working, the person won’t have been attacked at all and won’t have the right to claim anything.
“If the government isn’t doing anything about even the very obvious ones, is it those happening to other individuals that government will do anything about? Even if you sue them in court, nobody will help you push the case. You don’t have a legal system that will stand for the less privileged because it’s the highest bidder that wins the whole thing.
“If you pay the lawyer and magistrate very well, the case will be turned upside down. But if the system was working, you’ll know that when you take your case to the legal system, they’ll look at it objectively and judge accordingly, things will normalise. But when we don’t have a system that works, we can actually do nothing. If such a situation happens to a child, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
JAMB should make considerations for victims of insecurity who fail to attend UTME: Christ the King College
The Vice-Principal of Christ the King College, Agada Solomon, stated that while he believes there might still be delays, making the exercise start later than scheduled, he urged JAMB to make considerations for candidates who were genuinely victims of any form of insecurity on that day.
Mr Agada said, “That timing is too early, but it’s not that they may start exactly that time, it may still be delayed, maybe for the purpose of screening and all of that, that’s why they are doing it that way.
“However, there is no exam that should come up earlier than 7:00 a.m., so that even if you’re traveling from a distance, you can still reach there after an hour or thereabout. If you leave home by 6:00 a.m., at least, it’s still okay, rather than leaving for exam by 4 o’clock, it’s not right.”
For students who miss the JAMB exam, especially due to insecurity, Mr Agada said, “you can’t still complain, and if they consider it, whether it’s appropriate or not.”
Some of our students who registered for JAMB mock exam might not attend due to insecurity: Capital Science Academy. The Guardian and Councillor for Capital Science Academy, Egah Onakpa, disclosed that JAMB moved some of their students to another state for the mock exam, which has made parents consider not allowing them to travel such long distances, especially due to insecurity concerns.
Mr Onakpa said, “For us, the challenge we are having, in the course of registration, is that most of our students were moved out of Abuja to Nasarawa. Due to the locations they were posted to, and the responses we’re getting from parents, it’s clear that some of them might not even attend the JAMB mock because of insecurity.
“We couldn’t get (centres) in Abuja, so we have to go to Nasarawa, Kaduna, Niger, and other far locations. Attending the JAMB mock might not be feasible, based on the calls we’re getting from parents. We’re fully aware that for the main JAMB, we’ll be having it in the FCT, but it’s just a few of our students that will participate in the JAMB mock because of insecurity and distance. In insecurity-prone areas like Yobe and other states where there are red flags, some of them might not go.”
Mr Onakpa, however, urged JAMB to reschedule the exam for candidates who may not be able to attend due to insecurity or relocate centres closer to such candidates.
Lack of adequate CBT centres affecting students : Regina Pacis College
The Vice Principal (Academics) of Regina Pacis College, Laji Timothy, disclosed that although the exam body slots their students far away, the school assists by picking them up with the school bus from their various locations as early as 5:00 a.m. to their designated CBT centres, blaming insufficient CBT centres in various states for the slotting of candidates to distant locations.
Mr Laji said, “That’s what JAMB is doing. Even the real JAMB last year, we were taking students out with the school vehicle as early as 5 a.m., because some had papers as early as 6:10 a.m., to catch up with time. So, it’s not a new thing, they scatter our students all over the town.
“One problem is the issue of CBT centres, they are not many. If all schools should have CBT centres, then this issue of slotting many students in one CBT centre will reduce.
“Due to funds, most schools can’t have CBT centres, the few private ones are the ones that are taking care of the JAMB CBT, so it’s a big issue. There were some that not only didn’t start early but even finished late, so students had to come back at night. It’s a situation we’ve found ourselves in as a country.”
Candidates’ safety should be priority; it’s wrong for JAMB to threaten reprimand: Chrisland School
The Vice-Principal of Chrisland School, Irondi Samuel, who described the timing as very concerning, urged JAMB not to follow through on its threat of reprimanding candidates who registered for the mock exam but failed to attend, which could be due to reasonable circumstances, especially insecurity, noting that only the living can write exams.
Mr Irondi said, “It’s really a serious concern for us and really unsafe to fix an exam at that time. It means if the centre is not close enough, that person has to leave as early as possible, to get to the destination by 6:00 a.m. I think JAMB should do better.
“Aside distance being a challenge, the climate is another barrier. If it’s in Lagos, traffic is a very serious challenge. What they rolled out the other time, that students who don’t meet up with that mock might face consequences, I don’t think that’s the way to go. Safety of life is priority over, and should be factored in, everything we do.
“It’s somebody who is alive that will write an exam. At that point in time, even though most of these students are in their teen years, parents should also be mindful and careful. If terrorism is frequent in their locality, life comes first. If that is prevalent, if I were in their shoes, I would advise my daughter to consider safety first before any other thing. JAMB can fix another day, but you can’t get your life back if it’s lost.”
Parents who also shared their thoughts said such timing for candidates, most of whom are under 18 years old, was set without considering their safety, especially in the North where bombings were recently recorded, as well as cases where many pupils and students have been kidnapped from their schools, some of which are still shut down.
A businessman, David Aigbojie, whose first daughter sat for the JAMB exam last year, stated that his son will be writing the exam next year. However, he added that if the exam body fixes the same timing and posts him to a distant location, he will not allow his son to attend.
Mr Aigbojie said, “My daughter did JAMB last year but didn’t do the mock because she wasn’t able to register for it on time, but my son will do the mock next year. But if they do it like the one they want to do this year, I won’t let him do it. I will prefer he waits for the real exam. Why should a child leave the house at that time to travel long distances for what is not even the actual exam?
“If anything happens to my child on the way, what will JAMB do about it? Will they compensate my family, reschedule the exam, or relocate the CBT centre for me? That is not sensitive at all. Should I now risk my child’s life because he wants to write JAMB?”
A fashion designer, Bisi Popoola, stated that although her daughter was not posted very far away, many of her classmates and friends were, adding that it is very unfair and unsafe for the candidates.
Mrs Popoola said, “I live in Oke-Aro, but my daughter was posted to Sango. That’s not that far. But she told me some of her friends and classmates living in my area were posted much farther away. I know a neighbour’s child who was posted to Ifo. What time do they expect that child to leave their house in this kind of area and arrive there before 6:30 a.m.? That’s very bad. If my child was posted to Ifo, I wouldn’t have allowed her go. JAMB should not let this continue.”
