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From Jude Owuamanam, Jos
Amid growing concerns about the safety of candidates sitting for Thursday’s 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), the Plateau State Government has assured parents of adequate security arrangements during the exercise.
The assurance follows concerns raised by parents and candidates over postings to some communities that have recently witnessed attacks, including Jos North, Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, and Bassa Local Government Areas of the state.
In view of the dusk-to-dawn curfew in Jos, the Commissioner for Education, Dr Kachollom Pyam Gang, announced that the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq O. Oloyede, has also adjusted the time for the examination.
The commissioner, who gave the assurance on Wednesday during a press briefing in Jos, stated that the first session starts at 7 am, the second session at 9 am, while the third session will start by 11 am.
She disclosed that the examination would now be conducted in three sessions instead of the earlier planned four, noting that candidates previously slated for the fourth session would be rescheduled and duly informed by JAMB.
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She said that Oloyede visited the state alongside heads of security agencies, religious leaders, and other stakeholders to assess preparedness and reassure residents of the safety of candidates.
According to her, following the stakeholders’ engagement, JAMB adjusted candidate arrival times strictly for biometric verification.
The commissioner stressed that no candidate would be allowed to sit for the examination without successful biometric verification, advising candidates to locate their centres ahead of time to avoid last-minute challenges.
She said that the state government, in collaboration with security agencies, had put measures in place to secure all routes leading to examination centres as well as the centres themselves, while urging operators of computer-based test (CBT) centres to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities promptly.
Gang appealed for calm, stressing that adequate arrangements had been made to ensure the safety of candidates.
“We are calling on all parents to allow their children to go to their UTME centres as adequate security has been put in place,” she said.
