The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has fixed Saturday, June 13, 2026, for the conduct of the mop-up Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination for candidates affected by technical challenges, biometric verification issues, and withdrawn results from the 2026 exercise.

The announcement was contained in a statement on Monday signed by the Board’s Public Communications Adviser, Fabian Benjamin, who said the mop-up examination is strictly for candidates who were duly registered and biometrically verified but were unable to sit the main examination due to disruptions.

JAMB explained that the affected candidates include those whose centres experienced technical failures, those who could not be verified biometrically despite presenting themselves, and candidates whose results were withdrawn over alleged examination infractions.

It added that the mop-up exercise represents the final stage of the 2026 UTME cycle, designed to resolve all outstanding cases arising from the main examination period.

“The 2026 UTME was conducted between 23rd and 29th April, 2026. However, some centres experienced technical challenges which made it impossible for a number of candidates to sit the examination.

The Board further noted that “some results were subsequently withdrawn over examination infractions, while some candidates who presented themselves for the examination could not be verified biometrically,” the statement said.

JAMB stressed that the mop-up examination is the final opportunity for affected candidates to complete the 2026 UTME process.

“The mop-up examination represents the final phase of the annual UTME exercise and serves as an opportunity to address all outstanding examination challenges involving candidates who duly presented themselves but encountered difficulties in taking the examination,” it added.

Candidates are expected to begin printing their examination notification slips from Saturday, 6 June 2026, ahead of the exercise, while also confirming their centres and making necessary arrangements.

“Affected candidates are hereby urged to print their Examination Notification Slips, familiarise themselves with their examination centres, and make all necessary arrangements ahead of the examination date,” the statement said.

JAMB warned that no further opportunity will be provided after the mop-up exercise, urging strict compliance with all instructions.

The development comes after the main 2026 UTME was conducted between 16 and 25 April 2026, with results beginning to roll out from around 18 April, while some centres were affected by technical glitches and biometric verification challenges.

Ahead of the examination cycle, JAMB had also concluded its policy meeting on 11 May 2026, where minimum admissible cut-off marks were approved at 150 for universities, 150 for colleges of nursing, and 100 for polytechnics, with institutions retaining discretion to set higher benchmarks for competitive courses.

The mop-up examination is expected to conclude the 2026 UTME process, paving the way for admission consideration processes that will combine UTME scores, Post-UTME performance, and O-Level requirements as determined by individual institutions. (The PUNCH)

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