Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board transfers N50 billion to federal government coffers over the past decade

Dr Fabian Benjamin, the Public Communication Adviser of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, has revealed that the examination body has remitted over N50bn to the Federal Government as operating surplus in the last decade.

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This information was disclosed during a virtual dialogue organised by the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria, which focused on the theme “2026 Admission Policy Review and JAMB Scorecard: A Conversation with the Registrar”.

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The discussion examined key issues surrounding admissions and tertiary education in Nigeria, providing an overview of Prof Ishaq Oloyede’s leadership of the board over the past 10 years.

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According to Benjamin, these remittances were made in compliance with the law requiring government agencies to remit a percentage of their operating surplus, and should not be misinterpreted as evidence that JAMB was established to generate revenue.

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Benjamin clarified that JAMB is not a revenue-generating agency, but rather, every agency is required to remit a certain percentage of its excess surplus, which is what JAMB has been doing.

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He stated that in the last 10 years, JAMB has remitted over N50bn back to the Federal Government as excess surplus, although he could not provide the exact amount generated.

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The board was able to generate savings through technological innovations and cost-cutting measures introduced under the Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, which enabled the board to make these remittances.

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Earlier in the year, a director in the office of the JAMB registrar, Muftau Bello, had projected N23.8bn in internally generated revenue for 2026 and planned to remit N6bn to the Federation Account as operating surplus.

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In 2016, the board replaced the Very Small Aperture Terminal technology with telecommunication-based connectivity using SIM cards, reducing the cost of connectivity for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination from about N1.2bn to less than N100m.

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Benjamin noted that despite initial setbacks, including technical hitches during the maiden mock examination in 2017, the reforms had transformed the board’s operations and strengthened the integrity of its examinations.

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Innovations such as the introduction of mock examinations, computer-based testing, and biometric verification had significantly reduced impersonation and other forms of examination malpractice, according to Benjamin.

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However, the current Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination registration fee of N3,500 may not be sustainable given prevailing economic realities, and the spokesman hinted that the fee may be reviewed.

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Benjamin explained that JAMB currently charges one of the lowest examination fees globally, with a fee of N3,500, which is shared with accredited Computer-Based Test centres.

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Many operators have complained that the amount paid to them is no longer sufficient due to rising operational costs, and any future review of the examination fee would be based on prevailing economic conditions.

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Prof Ishaq Oloyede’s tenure as Registrar is set to end on July 31, 2026, with Prof Segun Aina scheduled to officially resume office on August 1, 2026.