As part of preparations for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has reiterated that the use of Microsoft Camera is now mandatory for all Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres handling candidate registration.
This was made known during a monitoring visit by the Gombe State Coordinator of JAMB, Mr. Johnson Adebiyi, to El-Lawanti ICT Centre in Gombe on September 30, 2025.
The visit aimed to assess the level of compliance with the Board’s new registration requirements ahead of the October 1 deadline for full adoption of the Microsoft Camera system.
Why the directive
The new directive follows a review of the 2025 UTME, where some CBT centres were found to have engaged in image blending to aid impersonation and other examination malpractices. The introduction of the Microsoft Camera system is part of JAMB’s effort to strengthen identity verification and ensure the integrity of its registration process.
Adebiyi emphasized that the Board would not tolerate any breach of the new directive, warning that any defaulting centre risks being delisted from JAMB’s registration activities.
- He encouraged accredited CBT centres to seize new opportunities available under the Board’s expanded services, including handling registration tasks previously restricted to JAMB’s Professional Registration and Testing Centres.
- He also noted that CBT centres stand to benefit from partnerships with other examination bodies such as the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO), both of which have adopted the CBT model for their assessments.
What you should know
Nairametrics reported that JAMB established a 23-member Special Committee on Examination Infractions to address rising cases of technology-driven malpractice uncovered during the 2025 UTME. The committee was inaugurated in August 2025 to investigate 6,458 suspected cases of high-tech cheating and recommend stronger preventive frameworks.
The report revealed that investigators discovered 4,251 cases of biometric manipulation known as finger blending, 190 cases of AI-assisted image morphing, 1,878 instances of false albinism declarations, and several cases of credential forgery and multiple NIN registrations.
Responding to the findings, JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, clarified that while the report highlighted widespread infractions in the registration process, actual examination malpractice during the conduct of the UTME was relatively low, with only about 140 confirmed cases.
The Federal Government has approved a three-year ban for students caught engaging in examination malpractice across all national external examinations, including JAMB, WAEC, NECO, and NABTEB. The enforcement will rely on the National Identification Number (NIN), making it nearly impossible for offenders to evade sanctions.
