JAMB to set up UTME centre in Canada for Nigerians by 2027

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is planning to open a Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) centre in Ottawa, Canada, starting in 2027.

This new centre will let eligible Nigerians in Canada and other parts of North America take the UTME without having to travel back to Nigeria just for the exam. JAMB shared this update in a tweet on Monday.

The exam body explained that this move will provide "more access" and make it easier for Nigerians living abroad to gain admission into Nigerian universities.

This announcement came after JAMB Registrar, Segun Aina, visited the Nigerian High Commission in Ottawa. They talked about the new centre during this visit.

“The proposed centre will make it easier for eligible Nigerians in Canada and across North America to sit for the UTME without travelling to Nigeria solely for the examination,” the tweet said.

“It also represents a bigger opportunity to strengthen the connection between Nigerians in the diaspora and Nigerian tertiary education.”

JAMB believes this initiative will also help build a better relationship between Nigerians abroad and the Nigerian education system.

To gain admission into Nigerian universities, candidates must take the UTME and then go through the admission process at their preferred schools.

Every year, millions of candidates take this exam. This year, over two million candidates registered for the UTME.

JAMB already runs the UTME in certain centres outside Nigeria, including in countries like the United Kingdom, Ghana, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Côte d’Ivoire.

For the 2026/2027 admission cycle, JAMB and other relevant bodies have set a minimum score of 150 for university admissions, while 100 is the benchmark for polytechnics, monotechnics, colleges of education, and colleges of agriculture.