JAMB updates 2026 UTME arrival time to 7am
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced a slight change to the arrival time for candidates taking the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), especially those scheduled for the first session.
In a notice posted on its official X account on Monday, the board stated that candidates in the first session should now arrive at their exam centers by 7:00 a.m., instead of the previously planned 6:30 a.m.
JAMB also mentioned that the exam will start at 8:30 a.m. and finish at 10:30 a.m.
‘Attention 2026 UTME Candidates: This is to notify you of a slight change to the scheduled arrival time, particularly for the first session, now at 7:00am rather than the previously published 6:30am, while the exam start time is now 8:30 am and the end time is 10:30 am,’ the notice read.
The board clarified that candidates do not need to reprint their exam slips following this change.
The complete daily timetable, shared by JAMB, includes four sessions from Monday to Friday, with adjusted timings across all groups to facilitate smoother operations at Computer-Based Test (CBT) centers nationwide.
This change responds to ongoing feedback from candidates and parents about challenges associated with very early travel, including safety concerns on roads before dawn and logistical issues for those traveling from far away.
The UTME is scheduled to take place from Thursday, April 16 to Saturday, April 25, 2026.
