No fewer than 2,030,627 candidates who completed the registration process for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination are set to sit for the exams beginning today (Thursday) across all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

This figure was obtained from data provided by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, which also confirmed that the registration window for this year’s UTME opened on February 3 and closed on March 8, 2025, giving candidates a full month to complete the process.

It will be recalled that over 200,000 candidates participated in the mock UTME earlier in the year, with about 180 students now facing sanctions for examination malpractice.

Speaking during the monitoring of the mock exercise, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, emphasised the importance of preparation and academic integrity.

“We need to let the students know that the best way to pass the UTME is to study,” he said. “We are aware of rogue websites asking candidates to pay for access to leaked questions. It cannot work.”

Oloyede disclosed that JAMB had deliberately set up a fake rogue website to catch would-be cheats.

“As of this morning, about 180 students have paid into that account, hoping to get access to questions. To even attempt to cheat is already an infraction, and we are going to deal firmly with them. Their results, both UTME and Direct Entry, will be cancelled,” he said.

He further warned candidates against registering by proxy or sharing their registration numbers, noting that some schools manipulate data to inflate their performance rankings.

“UTME is not a school-based examination. We register students individually. We’ve seen instances where governors celebrated results that were not real,” Oloyede said.

He urged all candidates to avoid fraudulent websites and individuals promising shortcuts to success, reaffirming JAMB’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of the examination process (The PUNCH)